Mushfiqur Rahim struck a fine century but it was not enough to prevent Mohammedan Sporting Club’s first defeat in the Dhaka Premier League on at the BKSP Thursday.
Victoria Sporting Club rode on the half-centuries of Abdul Mazid, Mominul Haque and Nadif Chowdhury to edge past Mohammedan by two-wicket at the BKSP for their first win of the season.
The second round of league was completed on Thursday with Legends of Rupganj and Brothers Union also posting their first wins respectively at Fatullah and Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
All eyes were at BKSP where Mushfiq led Mohammedan from the front to hit 104 off 108 balls after he won the toss and elected to bat first. Despite his prolific innings, Mohammedan ended up with just 247-9 as no other batsman could provide him ample support.
Veteran Faisal Hossain put 101-run with Mushfiq for the fifth wicket but slowed down their process having made just 26 off 58 balls. Mohammedan could reach a decent total only after Ariful Haque made and unbeaten 42 off 35 balls with two fours and as many sixes batting at number seven.
Mushfiq, who made highest 72-run in Mohammedan’s 78-run win over Brothers in the first match, hit four fours and five sixes in his innings, which also helped him retake his record of most runs as a Bangladeshi in List-A cricket from Tamim Iqbal.
Victoria’s Sohrawardi Shuvo bowled exceptionally well to claim four wickets for 29 runs.
Victoria, who reached 248-8 in 48.4 overs, lost opener Fazle Mahmud cheaply but Mazid and one-down Mominul added 114 runs for the second wicket to put them firmly on track.
Mominul made highest 67 runs for the side while Mazid chipped in with 55. Mohammedan clawed their way back as Naeem Islam dismissed both of them but Victoria captain Nadif Chowdhury played an unbeaten knock of 51 runs from just 39 balls to ensure victory for his side.
Rupganj vs Gazi Group
At Fatullah, Legends of Rupganj restricted Gazi Group to 255-8 despite Anamul Haque (42) and Shamsur Rahman (69) gave the latter a solid start in the match.
Pakistani cricketer Saeed Anwar Jr added highest 70 runs but Gazi’s lower-order failed to make enough contribution thanks to some controlled bowling of Soumya Sarkar (2-14), Ashar Zaidi (2-45) and Mosharraf Hossain (2-52).
In reply, Rupganj were off to a horrible start having lost their first three wickets for just 11 runs.
Mohammad Mithun lifted the side with 75 off 94 balls while Zaidi helped him salvage the innings with 37 runs.
Rupganj still needed an unbeaten 54 from Asif Ahmed and a 22-ball unbeaten knock of 32 from Alaudddin Babu to reach their target, with six balls in hands though.
Brothers Union vs KCA
At the SBNS, skipper Mahumdul Hasan made 54 off 62 balls but Kalabagan Cricket Academy could still gather 213-7 against Brothers Union, who eased past the score with 27 balls to spare.
Brothers’ Zimbabwean cricketer Shaun Williams made highest 70 runs while experienced campaigner Tushar Imran was unbeaten on 67.
Brief Scores
Mohammedan SC v Victoria SC
Mohammedan SC 247-9 in 50 overs (Mushfiq 104, Ariful 42 not out; Suhrawardi 4-29) v Victoria SC 250-8 in 48.4 overs (Mominul 67, Mazid 55, Nadif 51 not out; Habibur 2-43).
Result: Victoria SC won by 2 wickets.
Man of the match: Mushfiqur Rahim (MSC)
***
Gazi Group v Legends of Rupganj
Gazi Group 255-8 in 50 overs (Saeed Anwar Jr 70, Shamsur 69, Anamul 42, Faruque 30; Soumya 2-14, Ashar 2-45) v Legends 256-7 in 49 overs (Mithun 75, Asif 54 not out, Ashar 37; Delwar 2-28)
Result: Legends of Rupganj won by 3 wickets.
Man of the match: Mohammad Mithun (Legends of Rupganj)
***
Kalabagan Cricket Academy v Brothers Union
Kalabagan 213-7 in 50 overs (Mahmudul 54, Irfan 42; Sanjit 2-23) v Brothers Union 214-4 in 45.3 overs (Williams 70, Tushar 67 not out)
Result: Brothers Union won by 6 wickets.
Man of the match: Tushar Imran (Brothers Union)
-With New Age input
