Bangladesh Premier League Roundup

Zahoor Akhtar slammed his second century in successive matches for Kalabagan when they put on a mammoth 293/3 against the favourites. Zahoor's 144 off 130 balls (14 fours and 5 sixes), was well supported by Harunur Rashid's 60 and Tareq's 64. After receiving a brutal punishment, it was Mohammedans' turn to bat. Sri Lankan players Kalpage (47) and Tillekaratne (68) put on 97 runs, to take them to a comfortable position at 193/3, but then as the pressure piled up, the batsmen were forced to play rash strokes, and the wickets tumbled. The giants were left with 82 runs to score off the final ten overs, but they finished with 284 with two wickets in hand in their 50 over quota, just 9 runs short. Mustadir Litu was Kalabagan's best bowler picking up three for 43.

Mehrab Hossain (45) and Azam Iqbal (34) gave Abahani a fine start when they were put in to bat. But when this valuable 76-run partnership was broken, Abahani seemed to have lost it. Totam was the peak of the Bima attack, grabbing five wickets for 53 runs, while Rajinder took three for 40. After collapsing from 76/0 to 144/6, in form Asadullah Khan Biplob helped to take the score to 199, before a late order collapse, left him stranded on 48 not out. Sadharan Bima's target off 223 seemed very mediocre after a week of high scoring games, but victory was no where in sight. A fiery display of pace bowling by Hassibul Hosain, devastated the Bima innings, and helped Abahani secure their third win in a row defending a comparatively small target. Hossain finished off with 5/35, as Bima were shot out for 131 runs.

After the match was reduced to a 45 over competition due to fog, Biman's captain Faruk Ahmed won the toss and elected to field. New ball bowler, Aminul Islam Bholatook 3/18 as they dismissed Wari for 148 runs in 43 overs. Halim (55), Nasir (29) and Sajib (26) were the only notable scorers in the Wari innings. Biman, struggled to chase this relatively low score. They lost wicket regularly, only Habibul Bashar (39) and Aminul Islam (27) contributed in the top order. After being in a devastating position at 110/6, Pakistani Manzoor Akhtar (18) and keeper Atiar Rahman (20*) occupied the crease long enough to secure their target, before Akhtar lost his cool at the last moment. However, Atiar finished the match off, with three and a half overs to spare, which resulted in a four wicket victory for the defending champs Biman, making this their third consecutive win.

Thanks to a responsible 64 by Tareq Mehmud, Kalabagan KC, were victorious in a thrilling encounter against Brothers Union. Batting first, Brothers' innings was more or less on the right track with Hanif and Khaled Mahmud taking the score to 73/2, before disaster struck. Rahad, Zahoor, Rouf and Fahim took two wickets each, as Brothers were bundled out for 152 runs in the 46th over. Chasing this relatively easy target, Kalabagan lost three early wickets, before Tareq came to the crease. From then on, he lost five partners for 49 runs, leaving the score 91/8 after 25 overs. The Pakistani batsman was finally joined by Fahim Muntasir who gave him some good support with his 13, before being stumpted nine runs away from victory. Number eleven, Rahad did not have to face a single delivery, as Tareq finished the match off hitting a six and a three in the next two balls, singlehandedly taking Kalabagan to a one wicket victory in what intially seemed to be a one sided contest.

Surjo Torun continued their winning streak in the premier league with an easy 61-run win over Victoria Sporting Club. A smashing 105 by Pakistani opener Mohammad Ramzan and a half century by skipper Minhajul Abedin, helped Surjo Torun put up a formidable total of 264/7. After Victoria lost both their openers quite early, Iqbal Sheikh (62) and Nuruzzaman (37) batted defiantly to take Victoria to a comfortable position at 3/150. Then, pacer Anisur Rahman (2/36), brought back into the attack, removed Sheikh, triggering a collapse as Victoria lost four wickets for just 16 runs. From then on, the rest of the bowlers dealt with the Victoria tailenders. who put up some resistance before finally being dismissed for 208. Enamul Haq finished off with the best bowling figures for Torun taking 3/43 from his quota of ten overs.

Team P W L Pts Biman 3 3 0 6 Surjo Torun 3 3 0 6 Kalabagan 3 3 0 6 Abahani 3 2 1 4 City Club 3 2 1 4 Mohammedan 3 2 1 4 Gobibagh 3 1 2 2 Wari Club 3 1 2 2 Brothers 3 1 2 2 Victoria 3 1 2 2 Sadharan Bima 3 0 3 0 Agrani 3 0 3 0