Anamul Haque and Naeem Islam light up Dhaka Premier League

Prime Bank Cricket Club and Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club continue to lead the Dhaka Premier League points table with four wins each but both clubs also dropped their first points during the second week of the tournament.

The main talking point this week, though, was an umpiring decision during the Abahani Limited-Khelaghar Samaj Kallyan Samity match on March 27. Umpire Masudur Rahman gave Khelaghar's Hasanuzzaman lbw despite the ball clearly hitting the bat. The strangest part was that the bowler Arafat Sunny and wicketkeeper Jaker Ali didn't appeal for the lbw decision; only Hanuma Vihari at slip made an appeal. The BCB has given a showcause notice to umpire Rahman while the video clip has gone viral on social media.

Legends of Rupganj's Naeem Islam struck two centuries in the DPL's second week, after he got out thrice in the nineties in the first week. Naeem struck 124 against Abahani and an unbeaten 114 against Rupganj Tigers.

Not too far behind in the top run-getters' chart is Anamul Haque who made 184 this week against Shinepukur Cricket Club. It is the third highest List A score in Bangladesh, while his side Prime Bank Cricket Club's 388 for 4 became the second-highest team score in List A matches here.

Among the overseas players, Rupganj's Chirag Jani and Shinepukur's Sikandar Raza have also been among the big runs.

Left-arm quick Qazi Onik leads the top wicket-takers' chart with a tally of 13, but there are three left-arm spinners hot on his heels - Sunzamul Islam, Rakibul Hasan and Nazmul Islam.

Mohammad Ashraful's maiden five-wicket haul included him dancing in five different styles to celebrate each wicket. But Shuvagata Hom's 5 for 25 for Mohammedan Sporting Club beat Ashraful's Brothers Union in this game.

Onik kept Dhiman Ghosh at bay in the last over to take Gazi Group Cricketers to a six-run win against Brothers Union in a high-scoring thriller at the BKSP-3 ground on March 28. Batting first, Gazi Group reached 297 for 8 with Farhad Hossain making 92 and captain Akbar Ali hitting a 23-ball 42 with four sixes.

Imtiaz Hossain struck his sixth List A hundred, but Brothers Union only picked up pace when Dhiman and Sohag Gazi added 40 runs for the seventh wicket. Dhiman struck two fours in the last over, in which they took 12 when they needed 19 to win.

City Club remain bottom with four losses out of four, while Khelaghar beat Prime Bank to bring them their first points. Defending champions Abahani meanwhile are in sixth place with two wins.

Anamul has been the standout performer this week, particularly with his six-hitting. He has struck 20 big ones, taking a huge lead over Naeem and Raza who have hit 11 sixes each. Anamul could be Bangladesh's answer for their demand of a six-hitting opener in T20Is.