Munim, Shanto shine for Abahani; Mahedi instrumental in Gazi’s win

It was as if Abahani Limited's Munim Shahriar pricked up from where he had left in the previous game. Following up on his tournament-high unbeaten 92-run knock against Prime Bank in the previous game, young Munim struck another blistering fifty, which, alongside Najmul Hossain Shanto's unbeaten fifty, helped Abahani beat Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club by 49 runs in a curtailed-over Bangabandhu Dhaka Premier Division T20 League game in Mirpur today.   

Courtesy of Munim's 40-ball 74 and Shanto's unbeaten 42-ball 65, Abahani piled up a commendable 181 for four in 18.2 overs before rain interrupted proceedings at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium. After play resumed, Sheikh Jamal's target was reduced to 148 runs from 13 overs and the Nurul Hasan-led side could only manage to score 98 for eight as they suffered their third loss in eight matches. 

Electing to bat, Abahani lost opener Mohammad Naim early. Naim fell prey to all-rounder Nasir Hossain in the fourth over after an 11-ball 10. Munim, unfazed by the early wicket, kept playing aggressively as he and Shanto stitched together an explosive 88-run second-wicket stand off just 53 deliveries. 

Munim, who smashed Sheikh Jamal bowlers all around the park, laced his fiery knock with nine fours and three maximums batting at a staggering strike rate of 185 throughout. Munim's carnage came to an end when the young right-hander was caught by Shykat Ali while trying to pull Ziaur Rahman for another maximum in the 12th over. 

Shanto, however, continued to bat till rain interrupted and halted Abahani's innings prematurely. 

Nurul Hasan's troops could never match the asking run rate of over 11 an over, and disciplined bowling from pacers Mehedi Hasan Rana and Mohammad Saifuddin and spinner Arafat Sunny only compounded Sheikh Jamal's troubles. 

Young pacer Mehedi remained the most successful with the ball, picking up three for 16 in his three overs. Left-arm spinner Sunny scalped two wickets while Saifuddin picked up one. 

Meanwhile, in another curtailed over game at BKSP 3, all-rounder Mahedi Hasan's handy contributions with both bat and ball helped Gazi Group win convincingly by nine wickets (D/L method) against Partex Sporting Club. 

Mahedi returned miserly figures of one for 10 in his two overs, of which one was maiden, to help restrict inexperienced Partex to just 109 for seven in 20 overs. Rain interrupted proceedings after Partex' innings and Gazi Group's target was reduced to 47 from eight overs. 

Mahedi smashed a quick-fire 13-ball 33, featuring one boundary and four maximums, as Gazi Group romped to the target with 15 balls to spare. 

The other game between Mohammedan Sporting Club and Brothers Union ended with both the teams sharing a point at BKSP 4. Batting first, Mohammedan scored 143 for nine in 20 overs but Brothers could not even bat as the field remained wet following heavy rainfall.