Four in four for Abahani

Openers Anamul Haque and Saif Hasan set up Abahani's fourth consecutive win in the Dhaka Premier League as the Dhanmondi giants beat Legends of Rupganj by five wickets at the BKSP-3 ground in Savar yesterday.

Tigers' under-19 captain Saif scored 78 off 82 balls, featuring ten fours and a six while Anamul struck an 89-ball 77, punctuated by six fours and two sixes. The pair added 143 runs for the opening stand to help Abahani to chase down the target with 12 balls to spare after Rupganj had posted 247 for 8 in 50 overs.

Mehedi Hasan Miraz smacked two sixes to finish the game with an unbeaten 21 while skipper Nasir Hossain added 34 runs. The win kept Abahani on top of the points table while Rupganj suffered their second defeat in four games.

Earlier, opener Abdul Mazid's 89 off 114 balls, six fours and five sixes in that innings, was the only notable performance after Rupganj elected to bat, with Indian recruit Parvez Rasool's 34 being the second highest scorer of the innings.

Pacer Taskin Ahmed bagged three wickets but was expensive, giving away 61 runs from ten overs while left-arm spinner Sunzamul Islam and Miraz took two wickets each for Abahani. Tigers' ODI skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza had a poor outing too as he failed to take a wicket while conceding 63 runs from nine overs.

In another match of the day, Fazle Mahmud's all-round performance guided Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club to their third consecutive win in a six-wicket victory against Brothers Union at the BKSP-4 ground.

After being sent in to bat, Brothers were bundled out for 214, with Mizanur Rahman scoring innings-highest of 71 off 79 balls. The opener gave a return catch to Fazle, who ended up picking three wickets. Yasir Ali's 44 was the second best for Brothers, who lost wickets at regular intervals.

Dutch all-rounder Ryan ten Doeschate also bagged three wickets while Farhad Reza took two for the Prime Doleshwar.

Doleshwar's reply started well, with the opening pair of Imtiaz Hossain and Liton Das scoring 82 runs. Imtiaz was dismissed for 39 while Liton scored 43 before Fazle and Marshal Ayub added 83 runs for the third wicket to chase down the target with 13 balls to spare. Player-of-the-match Fazle top-scored with 73 off 80 balls, featuring seven fours and two sixes while Marshal scored 43 runs. Skipper Alok Kapali picked up three wickets for Brothers.

Meanwhile, defending champions Gazi Group continued to struggle, losing their third game in four outings, this time by 55 runs against Kalabagan Krira Chakra, who registered their first win at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah.

Kalabagan's Pakistani recruit Akbar-ur-Rehman played the key role, scoring 80 off 111 balls and adding 101 runs with Taibur Parvez for the fourth wicket after Kalabagan were struggling on 23 for three inside eight overs.

Taibur struck fifty and Mahmudul Hasan added 34 off 33 balls while Abul Hasan scored a quickfire nine-ball 19 to lead the Kalabagan to 232 for 7 in 50 overs. Pacers Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Dollar Mahmud and Indian all-rounder Rajat Bhatia bagged two wickets each.

In reply, Gazi were bundled out on just 177 runs in 45.1 overs, with Imrul Kayes scoring innings-highest of 74. None of the other batsman managed to contribute significantly as player-of-the-match Akbar picked up four wickets for 35 runs from 8.1 overs.

SCORES IN BRIEF

LEGENDS OF RUPGANJ V ABAHANI LIMITED

LEGENDS OF RUPGANJ: 247 for 8 in 50 overs (Mazid 89, Rasool 33; Taskin 3-61)

ABAHANI: 253 for 5 in 48 overs (Saif 78, Anamul 77, Nasir 34; Mosharraf 2-41)

Result: Abahani won by five wickets

BROTHERS UNION V PRIME DOLESHWAR

BROTHERS: 214 alL out in 46.5 overs (Mizanur 71, Yasir 44; Doeschate 3-38, Fazle 3-49) 

PRIME DOLESHWAR: 215 for 4 in 47.5 overs (Fazle 73, Marshal 43, Liton 43; Kapali 3-47)

Result: Doleshwar won by six wickets

KALABAGAN KRIRA CHAKRA V GAZI GROUP OF CRICKETERS

KALABAGAN: 232 for 7 in 50 overs (Akbar 80, Taibur 50, Mahmudul 34; Bhatia 2-35, Dolar 2-36)

GAZI GROUP: 177 all out in 45.1 overs (Imrul 74, Nuruzzaman29 Akbar 4-35, Mahmudul 2-29, Sanjit 2-34)

Result: Kalabagan won by 55 runs