Robiul's 2nd ton upsets Sk Jamal

 Robiul Islam Robi scored his second consecutive century to help Khelaghar Samaj Kallyan Samiti upset a relatively more powerful Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club in the seventh round of the Dhaka Premier League yesterday at the BKSP.

Khelaghar are not a powerhouse in the league and yesterday's win was only their third in the competition. In the previous game it was Robiul's 107 that helped them beat Victoria Sporting Club, a team that is languishing at the bottom.

This time though, Robiul's cautious 126-ball 103 helped Khelaghar score a win against one of the big teams of the competition. He hit ten fours, two sixes and anchored the innings.  Batting first, Khelaghar were restricted to 266 for 8 with Amit Majumdar's 58 and Salauddin Pappu's 46 supporting Robiul's knock. For Sheikh Jamal their skipper Abdur Razzak, who finished with figures of 5 for 52, was the key man as the veteran slow left-arm bowler claimed his second five-wicket haul of the tournament. Unfortunately though, his efforts went in vain.

Sheikh Jamal lost early wickets during their chase as Tanvir Islam, who finished with figures of 4 for 41, ran through the top order and by the time he was done with his first two overs, Sheikh Jamal were reeling at 22 for 3. Prasant, who seemed comfortable early on, was dismissed for 44 in the 16th over, putting the Dhanmondi outfit in futher trouble.

Ziaur Rahman and Rajin Saleh joined hands to post a 108-run stand for the fifth wicket and helped Sheikh Jamal recover. Ziaur, who scored 75 off 62, was run out in the 35th over and with that wicket the game's momentum changed direction.

Sheikh Jamal were pegged back and kept losing wickets. Once Rajin was dismissed by Tanvir in the 47th over, Khelaghar got a strong foothold of the game and applied pressure. Soon after, Skipper Razzak was retired hurt and eventually Khelaghar won by 20 runs.

The other game at the BKSP was a close one as well with Gazi Group Cricketers edging past Borthers Union by ten runs. The win helped Gazi extend their league at the top with 14 points, four more than their closest rivals, Abahani.

Batting first, Gazi were bundled out for 236 in 48.4 overs. Anamul Haque was the key run-getter scoring 93 while Suhrawadi Shuvo supported him well with a 41.

After the exchange, Abu Hider took four quick scalps to put Brothers under pressure early on. Manvinder Bisla scored 56 and Kapali scored 49 to help them recover but they were dismissed soon after. Following that, Myshukur Rahman and Dhiman Ghosh posted 38 and 32 respectively to further put impetus. Eventually though Brothers were dismissed in 48.5 overs for 226.

Meanwhile at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah, a five-wicket haul from Imran Ali helped Partex Sporting Club secure a 62-run win over Kalabagan Krira Chakra.