Young guns in focus in second game
Following a four-wicket defeat in the opening game against Najmul XI, Mahmudullah XI will look to make a comeback in the BCB President's Cup when they take on Tamim XI in the second match at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur today.
There was a bit of rust among the cricketers when they played their first competitive match after seven months as the Mahmudullah Riyad-led side was bundled out for just 196 runs, despite having a solid top order. The likes of Naim Sheikh, Liton Das and Mominul Haque failed to provide a good start.
However, skipper Mahmudullah struck a fifty alongside Imrul Kayes, who scored 42, but it was not enough for the side to post a fighting total.
Tamim XI will be led by ODI skipper Tamim Iqbal, and they will have to contend with rust of their own when they play their first game. The side is made up mostly of young players from the 2019 ICC Under-19 World Cup winning side.
Much like young Towhid Hridoy -- who was instrumental with the bat for Najmul XI while scoring a match-winning fifty -- and Irfan Shukkur during the first match, there will be an onus to perform on under-19 champions like Akbar Ali, Tanzim Ahmed Tamim, Minhajul Abedin Afridi, Shoriful Islam.
Apart from the youngsters, relatively experienced cricketers like Mustafizur Rahman, Mohammad Saifuddin, Anamul Haque and Khaled Ahmed will also feature for Tamim XI.
The pitch at the home of cricket in Mirpur on the opening day seemed to be a sporting one and the batsmen today need to step forward and be counted to make the game an interesting one.
For skipper Tamim this will be his first experience leading the side after being appointed as the long-term Tigers ODI skipper and the cricketer will surely look to make an impact both as a leader and also as a batsman.
Comments