Mushy’s first in three years sets up opening win
Obviously, everyone is worried and concerned. It's important for us to be careful and pray because there is not much to do. It will take some time to adjust. I have seen the game between Australia and New Zealand and it looked weird without supporters at the ground as the players had to fetch the ball from the stands. Bangladesh is a cricket-mad nation and my message for the fans is to maintain some distance while watching a game at the ground, remain careful and take measures.
Mushfiqur Rahim
Abahani captain
It was a display of hunger to score runs regardless of the size of the platform from a top-class cricketer as Mushfiqur Rahim, featuring for Abahani for the first time in his career, struck the first century of the season and helped his side clinch a commanding 81-run win over Partex SC in the opening game of the Bangabandhu Dhaka Premier League yesterday.
Mushfiqur scored a 124-ball 127 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, which featured eleven fours and four sixes, and found support from half-centurion Mosaddek Hossain. Mohammad Saifuddin struck a blistering 15-ball 39 towards the end with five sixes as the team post 289 for seven in fifty overs.
In reply, Partex SC never looked like posing any kind of threat and lost wickets at regular intervals. Nazmul Hossain hit a team-high fifty as they were eventually bowled out for 208 runs in 48.4 overs.
Abahani's left-arm seamer Mehedi Hasan Rana bagged four wickets while left-arm spinner Taijul Islam took two.
Earlier, Abahani had found themselves in a spot of bother after Mushfiqur elected to bat as they lost in-form opener Liton Das in the first over when the right-hander was bowled by pacer Rony Hossain.
Things went from bad to worse as pacer Jaynul Islam, playing just his second list A game yesterday, removed Mohammad Naim and Nazmul Hossain Shanto to leave Abahani struggling at 27 for three.
It was a dream start for Jaynul, who managed to pick some of the top Bangladesh wickets while bowling four maidens in his first spell. He had at one point given away just five runs from six overs for two wickets.
Mushfiqur steadied the ship, scoring his first run off the 24th ball that he faced, but Aminul Islam and Afif Hossain departed cheaply at the other end as Abahani crashed to 67 for five inside 22 overs.
Mushfiqur and Mosaddek then added a 160-run partnership for the sixth wicket to change the complexion of the game for the defending champions. Mushfiqur reached his fifty off 75 balls and started to accelerate, registering his 12th List A hundred off 111 balls.
He eventually departed in the 45th over, becoming Jaynul's third victim, but the 32-year-old, who scored a first hundred in the DPL in three years, informed that he was feeling some pressure initially as he was playing for Abahani for the first time.
"I didn't play in the DPL last year so it should be after two years. Obviously, I personally feel that this is the top league in the country and the start is good. That was not on my mind [scoring a hundred after three years] but it feels good. Everyone was nervous at the start which is normal. The defending champions are always under pressure. Whether it's a big or small team, Abahani always plays for win. At the end of the day, it feels good that my team won," Mushfiqur told reporters after the game.
Mushfiqur was a Mohammedan fan in his younger days, but he said that he had change allegiance because of Abahani's passion to remain the best in the business.
"We have heard a lot of stories about Abahani-Mohammedan encounters where players had to wait till night to get out of the stadium due to the madness from the supporters. Now we play a lot of international cricket where the fans come in numbers to support us. It's difficult for them to take some time off and watch league games as well. To be honest, I was a Mohammedan fan back then but Abahani, being a top team, always tried to build a champion caliber team be it in cricket or football. So gradually my affection started to be diverted towards Abahani," he said.
SCORES IN BRIEF
ABAHANI V PARTEX
ABAHANI: 289 for 7 in 50 overs (Mushfiqur 127, Mosaddek 61, Saifuddin 39 not out; Jaynul 3-28, Tasamul 2-29)
PARTEX SC: 208 all out in 48.4 overs (Sayem 24, Tasamul 43, Dhiman 36, Nazmul 53; Mehedi 4-55, Taijul 2-30)
Result: Abahani won by 81 runs.
Player-of-the-match: Mushfiqur Rahim.