UCB-BCB XI batsman Imrul Kayes and Mohammedan Sporting Club’s wicket-keeper batsman Nurul Hasan both scored match-winning half-centuries to lead their sides to victories at the Amber Victory Day Twenty20 Cup at Mirpur on Saturday.
Imrul notched a brilliant, unbeaten half-century to guide UCB-BCB XI to a thrilling five-wicket win over Prime Bank Cricket Club while Nurul also posted a fine half-century as Mohammedan defeated rivals Abahani Limited by eight wickets.
Imrul remained unbeaten on 82 runs as UCB-BCB XI reached 175-5 in 19.4 overs after they restricted Prime Bank to 173-8 to earn a valuable win that kept the former in contention for the title race along with the latter.
Abahani are stranded on two points while three teams – UCB-BCB XI, Prime Bank and Mohammedan – are all tied on six points and the winner in the tie between UCB-BCB XI and Mohammedan will sail through to the final.
If Abahani win their clash against Prime Bank then the head-to-head record will be considered between Prime Bank and the loser of the match between UCB-BCB XI and Mohammedan.
According to the bylaws of the tournament, run-rate will be counted if the head-to-head record is equal.
Prime Bank skipper Sakib al Hasan, who introduced himself at the beginning for the first time in quite a while, struck early to remove dangerman Tamim Iqbal in the fourth ball of the innings to push UCB-BCB XI on the back foot and caused further damage by removing Rony Talukder as UCB-BCB XI were struggling at one stage on 19-2.
But Imrul and Mithun Ali (44) had other ideas as the pair added 87 runs for the third wicket partnership to steady the ship and take their team closer to victory before Mithun departed to provide Prime Bank with a glimmer of hope.
However, man-of-the-match Imrul remained unperturbed and made 82 runs that came at the cost of three lives with Mehrab Hossain Jr alone dropping him twice in the 19th over that dearly cost Prime Bank the game.
UCB-BCB XI required 21 runs from the last two overs when Marshal Ayub smashed Sakib for a boundary in the first ball of the penultimate over to give them the edge.
Imrul smashed a four in the last ball of the 19th over to bring down the required runs to seven as Sakib gave away 14 runs from his fourth and final over.
Needing seven runs from the final over, Rubel Hossain came on to bowl and dismissed Marshal off the very first delivery but Muktar Ali displayed a cool nerve and blasted two fours to end the game with two balls to spare.
Prime Bank reached 173-8 riding on the shoulder of Sabbir Rumman who struck 57 runs while Mehrab Saykat Ali contributed 39 and 41 runs respectively.
Earlier, wicket-keeper batsman Nurul Hasan blazed his way to an undefeated half-century to script a memorable eight-wicket win for Mohammedan Sporting Club over Abahani Limited at the Amber Victory Day Twenty20 Cup at Mirpur on Saturday.
Nurul, promoted up in the batting order, scored a scintillating 47-ball 79 to help Mohammedan reach 172-2 in 19 overs replying to arch-rival Abahani’s 171-6 and the result virtually ended all hopes the latter harboured of going beyond the group phase.
The right-handed Nurul arrived at the crease when Mohammedan were 42-1 and alongside opener Junaid Siddique (43), added 78 runs in 47 balls for the second wicket to build a solid platform before Junaid was removed by Nabil Samad with the score reading 120-2.
Nurul smashed 10 fours and two sixes in his 58-minute unbeaten stay as the Abahani bowlers looked toothless and failed to defend a competitive total.
Momiul Haque (22 not out) added 52 runs with Nurul for the unbroken third wicket stand as Mohammedan coasted to their target with six deliveries in hand. The Motijheel outfit now stood a good chance of progressing to the final.
Mohammedan, who were dismissed for a paltry 45 in their previous match against Prime Bank Cricket Club on Thursday, now have six points courtesy the eight-wicket victory while Abahani remained at the bottom with two points.
Earlier, all-rounder Soumya Sarker struck 52 as Abahani posted 171-6 although they could have scored more had their batsmen played with a plan.
After Soumya departed with the score 150-4 in 16.4 overs, the rest of the Abahani batsmen could garner only 21 runs from the last 20 balls that enabled Mohammedan to restrict the Dhanmondi outfit to a gettable total.
-With New Age input
