Defending champions Mohammedan Sporting Club lost a valuable point when they were held to a dramatic tie in their second match of the Dhaka Premier League by newcomers Prime Doleshwar at the Shaheed Kamruzzaman Stadium in Rajshahi on Tuesday.
Abahani and Bangladesh Biman recorded their second consecutive win in the other matches of the day held in BKSP and Bogra respectively. Abahani overcame the shock of losing their skipper Mashrafee bin Murtaza to injury to beat BKSP by 119 runs while Biman also won emphatically by eight wickets against Surjo Tarun.
Mohammedan v Prime Doleshwar
Half-centuries from Mohammad Zahid (56 off 81 balls), Nadif Chowdhury (73 off 75 balls) and Nizam Uddin (54 not out off 40 balls) helped Doleshwar to put up a challenging 259-7 in their 50 overs after they were sent to bat first.
Tamim Iqbal smashed 70 off 49 balls hitting seven fours and three sixes and shared 90-run opening partnership with English batsman Moeen Ali (59 off 94 balls) gave Mohammedan a rollicking start, but their middle-order failed to keep up the momentum.
Nizam Uddin accomplished a brilliant all-round performance to take 4-52 that included the prize scalps of Tamim, Moeen and one-down Nazim Uddin and skipper Sakib al Hasan, who looked in ominous touch before he was dismissed for 33 off 25 balls.
Mohammedan lost their last five wickets for 22 runs to end their 50 overs for 259-9 and with just one point from the game. Rezaul Karim took three crucial wickets at the death to snatch the tie for Doleshwar.
Abahani v BKSP
Opener Rony Talukdar made 69 off 74 balls while Farhad Hossain was unbeaten on 45 as they ended their 50 overs for 232-9 on a sluggish BKPS pitch against the home side. Tapash Baishya ripped through the top-order of BKSP to reduce them 3-12, a position from where they could never recover.
Tapash finished with 3-28 as BKSP were all out 113 with more than eight overs to play.
Biman v Surjo Tarun
Left-arm spinner Elias Sunny claimed 5-36 as Biman bundled out Surjo Tarun for 154 runs before flying to 155-2 in 33.3 overs riding on second consecutive fifty by national wicket keeper Mushfiqur Rahim. The only highlight of Surjo Tarun innings was 60 off 87 balls by Junaed Siddique, who added 103 runs with Rajin Saleh ( 45 off 83 balls) after they lost the openers for 15 runs on board.
Mushfique, fresh from 87 not out against Prime Doleshwar, began from where he ended and was 77 not out to finish off the game in style.
Brief Scores
Prime Doleshwar v Mohammedan
Prime Doleshwar: 259-7 in 50 overs: Nadif Chowdhury 73, Mohammad Zahid 56, Nizamuddin 54 not out; Shuvashis Roy 4-63, Enamul Hoq 2-47.
Mohammedan: 259-9 in 50 overs: Tamim Iqbal 70, Moeen Ali 59; Nizamuddin 4-52, Rezaul Karim 3-38
Result: Match Tied
Abahani Ltd v BKSP
Abahani: 232-9 in 50 overs: Rony Talukder 69, Farhad Hossain 45 not out, Mahmudullah 37; Imamul Mustar 3-35, Riaz Mahmud 3-45.
BKSP: 113 all out in 41.3 overs: Ashiqul Alam 47, Mohammad Furkan 23; Tapash Baishya 3-28, Farhad Hossain 2-9, Saqlain Sajib 2-24.
Result: Abahani won by 119 runs.
Bangladesh Biman v Surjotorun
Surjotorun: 154 all out in 41.4 overs: Junaid Siddique 60, Rajin saleh 45; Ellias Sunny 5-36.
Bangladesh Biman: 155-2 in 33.3 overs: Mushfiqur Rahim 77 not out, Avishek Mitra 32, Sanuar Hossain 22 not out; Mizanur Rahman 1-7, Giashuddin Tutul 1-26.
Result: Biman won by 8 wickets