Legends of Rupganj share honours with Victoria in DPL
Mohammedan, Sk Jamal sail through
Sports Reporter
The Dhaka Premier League (DPL) saw a mouthwatering clash in the match between Legends of Rupganj and Victoria Sporting Club which ended in a tie after Taijul Islam hit last ball-six at BKSP-3 ground yesterday.
When the two teams produced a titanic game, the other two matches of the league was one-sided affairs.
Mushfiqur Rahim hit form in Mohammedan Sporting Clubs comfortable 78-run victory over Brothers Union at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium while Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club secured a facile eight-wicket win over Kalabagan Cricket Academy at Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium.
Legends of Rupganj vs Victoria
Victoria amassed 314 for nine in what was regarded as respectable total to win the game. Rupganj however left them scratching the hair with utmost frustration when they tied the match from the jaw of defeats with Taijul Islam, the No. 10 batsman clubbing a six off fast bowler Kamrul Islam Rabbi. Rupganj needed 13 to win the game in the last over and Rabbi made the things tight until the last ball. Taijul was unbeaten on 17 off 10 with the last-ball six.
But the credit should go for skipper Mosharraf Hossain Rubel and Nahidul Islam who combined for a 109 runs for the seventh wickets after Victoria almost snuffed out any hopes Rupganj had, by reducing them to 127 for six.
Rubel struck 88 off 96 with eight fours and one six while Nahidul smashed 52 ball-57, hitting four fours and two sixes.
The duo came in a rescue job after the failure of their star-studded batting line up which included the likes of Soumya Sarkar, Junaid Siddique, Mohammad Mithun and Ashar Zaidi, the most valuable player of the BPL-3.
Rupganjs effort however put a shed on young Al-Amin who hit his maiden List A hundred. The Victoria middle order batsmans highest List A score was 37 until the match. He guided the side to propel past 300 with his 113 ball-102 that included 11 fours and a six. He was aided by opener Fazle Mahmud who made 73.
BPL-3 hero fast bowler Abu Haider Rony recorded his career best List A bowling after claiming five for 52.
Mohammedan vs Brothers
Brothers decision to send Mohammedan batting backfired as the Motijheel outfit blasted their way to 285 for six thanks to three 70s score from Upul Tharanga, Mushfiqur Rahim and Nazmul Hossain Milon.
Sri Lankan recruit Tharanga and Mushfiqur Rahim laid the platform with 135 runs for the third wicket after Mohammedan was tittering at 21 for two. Tharanga scored 70 while Mushfiqur Rahim 72 off 80 with nine fours and one six.
Both of them were dismissed in a short space but standing on the solid platform, Nazmul Milon and Ariful Haque plundered the Brothers bowlers at will to take the side in a strong position. Ariful contributed 41 off 47 but Milon was at his ruthless best and smashed 70 off 41, clattering five fours and four sixes.
Fast bowler Shubhashis Roy then scythed down Brothers in a good fast bowling show. He claimed three for 28 in his 10 overs and was well supported by left arm spinners Habibur Rahman Jony and Enamul Haque Junior, both of whom snapped two wickets each. Under-19 hero Zakir Hasan was the lone batsman from Brothers to resist with his classy 61 runs.
Sheikh Jamal vs Kalabagan Cricket Academy
Medium fast bowler Muktar Ali returned figures of four for 19 as Kalabagan Cricket Academy was bowled out for 152 in 44.3 overs. Mehedi Hasan Miraj was the highest scorer with 25. Opener Mahbubul Karim made the chase a cake-walk for Sheikh Jamal, blasting 72 ball-78 which studded with nine fours and two sixes. Riding on his fluent knock, Sheikh Jamal gunned down the target with 26.4 overs, losing just two wickets.
