Mominul, Silva record stand secures shock Doleshwar win

Centuries from Mominul Haque and Roshen Silva paved the way for the first upset of this season's Dhaka Premier Division, as Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club overwhelmed Abahani Limited, the league's most successful side, by 58 runs. The pair added 276 runs, setting a new fourth-wicket List A record by beating Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja's 275 runs against Zimbabwe in 1998.

Doleshwar will feel the partnership came at the right time too, as they were struggling at 41 for 3 after medium-pacer Al-Amin Hossain had rattled their top order. Al-Amin had taken six wickets in Abahani's previous game against Cricket Coaching School, and he followed it up with a spell of 5 for 65 on Tuesday.

But Mominul and Silva soon settled in, and stemmed the flow of wickets. They took the score to 100 in the 26th over, before adding another hundred in the next 13.1 overs. Silva was more aggressive, and reached his fifty and hundred before Mominul, as both batsmen continued to dominate the Abahani bowling attack, which looked flat after Al-Amin's opening burst.

Mominul made 129 off 122 balls with 13 fours and a couple of sixes while Silva's 140 came off 127 balls with 14 fours and three sixes. Both batsmen fell in the final over of the innings, with Doleshwar already past the 300-run mark.

Abahani, the 17-time champions, looked to be well in the game when Tharanga Paranavitana and 17-year-old Mosaddek Hossain added 165 runs for the fourth wicket, after they were reeling at 37 for 3 in the 10th over. But once Doleshwar captain Farhad Reza trapped the left-handed Paranavitana for lbw for 81 in the 38th over, Abahani lost their way again.

Mosaddek reached his century later on, but got out soon after when he was caught by Taijul Islam off the bowling of Sohag Gazi for a 126-ball 100 that included 12 fours. Farhad finished with a five-wicket haul, conceding 51 runs from his 9.4 overs while offspinner Gazi picked up two wickets.

Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club narrowly avoided an upset, after prevailing in a tense one-wicket win over Cricket Coaching School. The match was interrupted by rain in the 30th over of Dhanmondi's chase. They were set a revised target of 239 runs from 47 overs, which they surpassed off the penultimate ball of the match, with No. 11 Shafiul Islam sneaking in a single to snatch a victory.

Dhanmondi's chase was led by the Afghan recruit Mohammad Shahzad, who made a 78-ball 83 with four sixes and as many fours. His dismissal in the 45th over sparked a mini-collapse which brought CCS back into the game, but Shafiul and Abdur Razzaq held their nerves to complete a closely-fought win.

CCS however were a much improved side from their disastrous first game against Abahani, when they were bowled out for just 35. They responded well this time after being asked to bat, as Uttam Sarkar and Gihan Rupasinghe scored half-centuries.

But they lost four quick wickets for just 38 runs, before Nazmul Hossain Milon and Nurul Hasan slammed three sixes each as their 33 and 35 respectively, took CCS to a respectable 247 runs in 50 overs. Shafiul took three wickets while Razzak and Dilshan Munaweera took two each.

Mohammedan Sporting Club picked up their second win of the tournament, cruising past Kalabagan Cricket Academy by five wickets. After rain had interrupted play for over an hour, Mohammedan had to chase 119 runs in 34 overs after the target was revised.

Tillakaratne Dilshan top-scored with 44 off 52 balls and struck four fours as Mohammedan eased past the target with 44 balls to spare.

KCA, electing to bat, were earlier bowled out for just 140 runs in 43.2 overs on Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium's low and slow surface. Left-arm spinner Murad Khan picked up three wickets, while Mukhtar Ali and Dilshan took two each.

Sharifullah struck 50 off 63 balls with three fours and two sixes to take KCA past 100, but with none of the other batsmen able to produce big scores, the team was unable to put up a competitive total.