All-round Munaweera sinks Kalabagan

Sri Lanka batsman Dilshan Munaweera struck a half-century and then collected a five-wicket haul to help Prime Bank Cricket Club crush Kalabagan Cricket Academy by 113 runs at the Shere Bangla National Stadium. Batting first, Prime Bank lost the opener Saikat Ali early, but Munaweera and Shadman Islam counterattacked by putting up a 123-run stand for the second wicket. Shadman chipped in with a patient 53, while Munaweera thumped seven fours and four sixes to make an 80-ball 72, his second consecutive fifty. Both batsmen were out by the 35th over, but a 21-ball 40 from Nurul Hasan down the order lifted the score to 274.

Kalabagan never really got going in their chase, and were pegged back by wickets at regular intervals. Jeevan Mendis (36) and Nazmul Hossain Shanto (35) chipped in with thirties, but no other batsman was able to cross 22, as Kalabagan were dismissed for 161 inside 41 overs. Munaweera ended with 5 for 40, while Taijul Islam and Shuvagata Hom snared two wickets apiece.

Old DOHS Sports Club lost their third game in a row, going down by 12 runs to Partex Sporting club in a low-scoring encounter at Fatullah. Partex began poorly after choosing to bat, slipping to 12 for 3, before Mehrab Hossain jnr and captain Rajin Saleh stabilised the innings with a cautious 68-run stand. A slew of wickets towards the end limited Partex to 189 for 8, but Old DOHS had a difficult time during the chase. They slid to 79 for 5, and later 119 for 6, but the seventh wicket partnership between Kafi Khan and Mohammad Rony seemed to put the chase on course. At 164 for 6, Old DOHS looked set to win, but they lost their final four wickets for 13 runs to stay stuck at the bottom of the table.

Mohammedan Sporting Club registered their second win in three matches, by beating Brothers Union by 44 runs in Savar. Mohammedan were led by fifties from Ezaz Ahmed and Naeem Islam to score 259, to collect four points.

Opener Ezaz scored a patient 84 off 119 with seven fours and three sixes, and Naeem scored 52 at No. 4, after Mohammedan opted to bat. Left-arm spinner Asif Hasan took 5 for 47 in 10 overs but Ariful Haque's 36-ball 47 took them past 250.

Brothers Union hardly got any substantial partnerships going. Eight of their nine batsmen scored in double-digits but could not capitalise on the starts, and Nazmus Sadat top-scored with 46. The Mohammedan bowlers struck at regular intervals to ensure Brothers Union were restricted to 215 for 7.