Last-place Abahani Limited take on Mohammedan Sporting Club as the ongoing Amber Victory Day Twenty20 Cup resumes today at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka.
The game, which is scheduled to start at 1:00pm and will be televised live on Bangladesh Television, is a do-or-die affair for Abahani, as a loss would all but end their hopes of reaching the final.
Abahani is certainly on the back foot after the loss of in-form skipper Mushfiqur Rahim, who was ruled out for two weeks after sustaining a back injury during his second successive half-century of the tournament against Prime Bank Limited on Wednesday.
Prime Bank will take on UCB-BCB XI in the other match of the day.
Prime Bank currently tops the table with six points, with Mohammedan and UCB-BCB XI tied on four each. Abahani have two points in the competition, which was designed to help the Tigers’ T20 preparation ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 next year.
The tournament began at the Sylhet Divisional Stadium with some high-voltage performances in the presence of packed houses at the recently renovated venue, which will be used during the ICC World Twenty20.
Pace bowler Al-Amin came away with the biggest highlight of the Sylhet leg of the tournament when he made history by grabbing five wickets in an over against Abahani on Thursday.
Al Amin, who is strengthening his claim for a regular place in the national team, became the first bowler to take five wickets in an over in Twenty20 cricket.
Other players have also made their mark on the tournament so far.
Out-of-form batsman Anamul Haque hammered a century against Mohammedan on Thursday to gain some confidence as he struggles to keep his place in the national side.
Meanwhile, all-rounder Sakib al Hasan and opener Tamim Iqbal both came into some good form in their returns from dengue fever and an abdominal injury respectively.
Tamim has scored runs regularly, though he has yet to translate his starts into the big ones that he would have liked.
Sakib hit a half century for Prime Bank and took 6-18 with the ball to dismantle Mohammedan for 45 all-out – the third lowest total in this format.
It was Sakib’s second six-wicket haul in T20s, having taken 6 for 6 in the Caribbean Premier League earlier this year.
Sabbir Rahman and Mohammad Mithun Ali also scored to give the national selectors a lot of options before the World Twenty20. The selectors say they will be putting a lot of emphasis on performances in this tournament, as there are still a number of places in the national side up for grabs.
-With New Age input
