Lady luck plays her hand

CAPTAINS IN PAIN: Injured Abahani and national captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza (R) consoles his deputy Shakib Al Hasan after the last ball defeat against Mohammedan at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday.Photo: STAR

Time flies fast, but fortunes fly faster. Barely two months ago, Abahani's veteran all-rounder Mohammad Rafique was the toast of the Abahani players after he played an astonishing knock to single-handedly win his side the season's first cricket event -- the Twenty20 Premier League. Memories of that match are still very much fresh in the mind of every cricket fan and journalist alike.
But yesterday he found himself on the receiving end as his last over was dispatched for sixteen runs that handed Mohammedan the much-vaunted title. Rafiq had looked to have made amends after going for two consecutive sixes in the last over, by getting rid of the eventual man-of-the-match Navedul Hasan, and then bowling a dot ball to turn the game into a last ball drama with Mohammedan needing a boundary.
But that last ball was dispatched, albeit clumsily, to the third-man boundary bringing the Mohammedan faithful the taste of Premier League victory after an eight-year drought and sending the Sky-Blues camp into shock.
It was however not all about Mohammad Rafique.
Mohammedan skipper Khaled Mashud's contribution in the game, apart from that lucky boundary, was minimal, but his counterpart Shakib Al Hasan had a forgettable day. First, he scored only one with the bat and then he failed to get himself on the wickets column to put a sombre end to a frustrating season. But it was his captaincy that came most under scrutiny. His decision to bowl out his fast bowlers with two overs remaining confounded many. But most shocking was his ploy in keeping the fielders infield when Mohammedan needed a boundary of the last ball. That backfired spectacularly and left the Abahani faithful desperate. They were so frustrated with the outcome that Shakib had to leave the ground amidst a police cordon and failed to appear at the prize giving ceremony or the post match briefing.
Reporters were able to get the reaction of Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, the injured regular-skipper of Abahani, who had paced all throughout the match by the boundary in anticipation of an Abahani win. He admitted it was a tough and nerve-racking battle between the two best sides of the league. "Cricketers of this generation hadn't had much of an idea what the pressure is like in domestic cricket. We learned it today, and it is sad for us that we lost. But this type of match is good for domestic cricket".
What was the reason to lose a match which once looked to be in their clasp? The injured skipper said: "We probably made a few errors under pressure which cost us the game and the title."
The winning captain Khaled Mashud was obviously very delighted with the result, but admitted there was a touch of luck in it: "It was a fantastic match. I can't remember of another one in this recent past. The match could've gone either way. Probably luck was on our side today. In the end, the best team won the tournament," said the former national skipper. Masuhd, who won this title three times before with two other clubs, gave credit to all his team members: "Ashraful batted very well and kept us in the game. Mahmudullah and Faisal batted superbly. Navedul provided the finishing touch.
"We all knew Navedul has this ability. We were all waiting for him to fire and he did at just the right time," said a beaming Mashud.
Navedul himself expressed his satisfaction at being able to help Mohammedan to the title: "Even though my performances prior to the final had not been that good, I am delighted with the way it finished. I hope I can help my team in this fashion in the future too."
When asked if they had thought at any time they were out of the chase, the Pakistani all-rounder said: "It was part of our game plan. We always knew if we had wickets in hand towards the end, we would be able to chase down the target."