Comfortable victories for Abahani Limited and Prime Bank CC left all four teams level on points with one win and one loss after two games of the Victory Day Twenty20 Cup in Sylhet on Monday. Skipper Mushfiqur Rahim blazed his way to a fine half-century as Abahani defeated arch-rivals Mohammedan Sporting Club by 77 runs, while Sabbir Rumman’s fifty was the highlight in Prime Bank’s seven-wicket victory over the UCB-BCB XI.
Mushfiq, whose missed run-out chance off the last ball allowed United Commercial Bank to win their nail-biting opening match on Sunday, scored 59 runs off 38 balls as Abahani piled up 172 runs before dismissing Mohammedan for a paltry 95 runs in 14.2 overs.
Abahani were struggling at 12-2 before Mushfiq and Soumya Sarker (37) added 70 runs for the third wicket to repair the damage and provide the backbone for their competitive total.
Mushfiq looked to be in total control during his stay at the crease, smacking eight boundaries and a six before he was caught and bowled by part time left-arm spinner Mominul Haque.
Ziaur Rahman scored an 11-ball 24, which included three consecutive sixes in the 18th over off Sajidul Islam, before his innings was cut short by Mashrafee bin Murtaza, who took 2-17 to lead the Mohammedan attack.
Mushfiq’s tactic to open the bowling with off-spinner Mahmudullah paid dividends as the latter removed Jahirul Islam, Mohammedan’s hero in Sunday’s game, in the first over.
His partner Subhashish Roy added to Mohammedan’s woes by picking up two wickets in the second over to leave them reeling at 12-3 after two overs.
From that point the target never appeared to be under threat, as wickets continued to fall at regular intervals and the match turned into a one-sided affair.
Left-hander Shahriar Nafees top-scored for Mohammedan with 34 runs, while all six Abahani bowlers picked up at least one wicket.
In the second match of the day, Prime Bank CC beat the UCB-BCB XI by seven wickets in skipper Sakib al Hasan’s first match of the tournament.
Sakib, who missed Sunday’s match due to personal reasons, won the toss and elected to field first. His plan proved successful as his bowlers restricted UCB to 123-8 in their 20 overs.
Marshal Ayub led UCB with 40 runs from 30 balls while Rony Talukdar and Naeem Islam chipped in with 34 from 28 balls and 32 off 38 respectively, but nobody else in the line-up reached double-figures and a late freefall of wickets prevented UCB from accelerating their scoring rate.
Shahadat Hossain led the Prime Bank bowling attack with three wickets for 20 runs in his four overs, while Taijul Islam took 2-30. UCB’s Imrul Kayes and Arafat Sunny were both run out for ducks before facing a single delivery.
In reply, Prime Bank reached 124-3 in the 18th over, thanks to by Sabbir’s unbeaten 50 from 41 deliveries. Sakib added 33 from 25 balls and opener Anamul Haque scored 24 off 23 as Prime Bank cruised to victory.
Delwar Hossain took 2-27 for UCB.
BRIEF SCORES
Abahani Limited v Mohammedan SC
Abahani Limited 172-8 in 20 overs (Mushfiq 59, Soumya 37, Zia 24, Mahmudullah 18, Mashrafee 2-17, Dewan 2-30, Sajidul 2-38) v Mohammedan SC 95-all out in 14.2 overs (Shahriar 34, Mashrafee 16, Farhad 2-9, Sohrawardi 2-9, Nabil 2-12, Suvashish 2-30
Result: Abahani Limited won by 77 runs
Man of the match: Mushfiqur Rahim (Abahani Limited)
***
Prime Bank CC v UCB BCB XI
UCB BCB XI 123-8 in 20 overs (Marshal 40, Rony 34, Naeem 32 not out, Shahadat 3-20) v Prime Bank CC 124-3 in 17.2 overs (Sabbir 50 not out, Sakib 33, Anamul 24, Delwar 2-27).
Result: Prime Bank CC won by seven wickets
Man of the match: Sabbir Rumman (Prime Bank CC)
-With New Age input
