Biggies prevail

Abahani skipper Mahmudullah Riyad plays a reverse sweep during his match-winning unbeaten half-century against Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club in the Dhaka Premier League at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday.Photo: STAR

Parity was restored in the Dhaka Premier League yesterday as the giants won their respective games, though life was made difficult for both Abahani and Mohammedan Sporting Club.
Defending champions Abahani had to withstand a strong Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club charge after they made 225-8 in 50 overs, and hostile "home" supporters to win by two wickets in 47.4 overs at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
Mohammedan, who made a modest 215 in 49.4 overs, defeated Prime Doleshwar by 33 runs after they were bowled out for 182 runs in 47.4 overs at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium, despite Qaiser Abbas's six-wicket haul.
Away at the BKSP, Gazi Tank (229-9 in 50 overs) completed a day without any upsets after they recovered from a poor position to crush Surjo Tarun (147-9 in 46.4 overs) by 82 runs.

ABAHANI-SHEIKH JAMAL
It all came down to Nazmul Islam and Mahmudullah Riyad facing a dim situation in the last three overs. Abahani had just two wickets in hand, needing 17 to win, but all of a sudden, the little-known Nazmul began carting Mahmudul Hasan through the on-side boundary, clinching the game for a relieved bunch. Nazmul struck a boundary, a six and two consecutive boundaries to complete the victory which had looked unlikely after the eighth wicket fell in the previous over.
Riyad however held the Abahani innings together with his measured half-century after Abahani had lost a flurry of wickets despite Peter Trego's aggressive 42. At one stage, the captain was stuck in single figures having faced 46 balls but he gathered speed during the 68-run fifth wicket stand with Elias Sunny, ending up with an unbeaten 51 with the help of a four and two sixes.
Earlier, the Abahani seamers Forhad Reza and Trego shared five wickets as the Sheikh Jamal innings faltered from an excellent position of 202 for four in the slog overs.
Shamsur Rahman and Jehan Mubarak were dismissed in the 50s but neither converted it into big ones, which unhinged the Dhanmondi club's innings in the latter stages.

MOHAMMEDAN-PRIME DOLESHWAR
Rajin Saleh and skipper Naeem Islam shared a 81-run fourth wicket stand to rescue Mohammedan from 67 for three.
The Sylhet batsman struck a half-century and Naeem made 38 but it was Yasin Mortuza's 17-ball 26 that took the Motijheel giants past the 200-mark.
Left-arm spinner Abbas had a fine day out with the ball, picking up six wickets for 36 runs in ten overs.
But Doleshwar never made a significant attempt at the chase and lost their way after the top-order got out. Openers Manvinder Singh and Mizanur Rahman made 44 and 32 respectively, but the rest folded quickly.
Naeem took three wickets while Yasin, Noor Hossain and Imtiaz Hossain took two each.

GAZI-SURJO TARUN
Shafiul Islam struck early for the lowly Surjo Tarun side as Gazi Tank were reduced to 37 for five in the twelfth over.
But Mithun Ali and Ayub Dogar staged a fightback during a 104-run sixth wicket stand. The wicketkeeper struck 82 off 83 balls with the help of nine boundaries and a six. Alauddin Babu and Mohammad Sami added 54 in the dying stages as Gazi Tank finished up on 229-9 in 50 overs.
Surjo Tarun had a similar start though the pace of Sami made it worse as Shafiul Alam was struck on the hand by the speedster.
Only Raja Ali prevailed with his 94-ball 42 but none of the others made an impression as the Jigatola-based club lost their second game in a row.

SCORES IN BRIEF
SHEIKH JAMAL: 225-8 in 50 overs (Mubarak 55, Shamsur 50; Forhad 3-40, Trego 2-50)
ABAHANI: 227-8 in 47.4 overs (Riyad 51 not out, Sunny 39; Sujeet 2-33, Shuvo 2-30)
Result: Abahani won by two wickets.
MOHAMMEDAN: 215 all out in 49.4 overs (Rajin 59, Naeem 38; Abbas 6-36)
PRIME DOLESHWAR: 182 all out in 47.4 overs (Manvinder 44, Mizanur 32; Naeem 3-35, Noor 2-30)
Result: Mohammedan won by 33 runs.
GAZI TANK: 229-9 in 50 overs (Mithun 82, Ayub 38; Shafiul 4-39, Raja 2-35)
SURJO TARUN: 147-9 in 46.4 overs (Raja 42, Imran 39; Alauddin 3-27, Sami 2-14)
Result: Gazi Tank won by 82 runs.