Brothers Union beat KKC by nine runs after dramatic comeback

Brothers Union pulled off a nine-run win over Kalabagan Krira Chakra, after a dramatic heist in which they took the last seven Kalabagan wickets for 15 runs at the BKSP-3 ground.

Forty-five overs into their chase of 263, Kalabagan were going along swimmingly. With five overs to go, and Hamilton Masakadza batting on 109, Kalabagan required just 25 runs to win with seven wickets in hand. But when left-arm spinner Nabil Samad removed Mehrab Hossain jnr at the start of the 46th over, a crushing collapse ensued.

In the next over, Mashrafe Mortaza, fresh from his 50-ball century in the last game, was caught and bowled by left-arm spinner Asif Hasan and, three balls later, Masakadza was run out by Imrul Kayes, ending his scintillating knock of 111 off 105 that had featured nine fours and a six.

The wobble was well and truly on and the wickets of Tanveer Haider and Sharifullah over the next two overs left Kalabagan requiring 10 runs off the last over with two wickets in hand. Offspinner Ahmed Sadequr wrapped up proceedings with consecutive wickets off the first two balls of that over to seal a remarkable come-from-behind victory.

Having been asked to bat first, Brothers had moved to 162 for 1 in the 32nd over, courtesy a 126-run second-wicket stand between Imrul Kayes (67) and captain Tushar Imran (77). They then lost 5 for 42 over the next 11.5 overs, before Nur Alam's 13-ball 23 helped them to their final score of 262 all out.

In reply, Kalabagan's openers, Shadman Islam and Jashimuddin scored 30 runs apiece, before a 122-run third-wicket stand between Masakadza and Tasamul Haque took the side to a commanding position. Tasamul's dismissal made it 210 for 3 in 41.4 overs, but Kalabagan's meltdown in the last five handed Brothers a nine-run win.

Masakadza, meanwhile, signed off from the Dhaka Premier League with a second century and a Player-of-the-Match award. He returns to Harare to prepare for the first ODI series under his captaincy, against India next month. He will leave as the highest scorer of the competition.

Cricket Coaching School(CCS) registered their first win in the Dhaka Premier League after they beat Victoria Sporting Club by 53 runs through the D/L method at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium. The loss prevented Victoria from taking the lead in the points table after seven rounds of matches.

Chasing 260, Victoria's openers got off to a brisk start, but both fell within the first seven overs. Victoria were 72 for 2 off 10 overs when rain interrupted play for the first time. However, the passage of play between the first and second rain interruptions totally derailed the chase, as four wickets fell for 24 runs in the space of 7.4 overs.

When play resumed, the target was revised to 253 in 35 overs as per the D/L method, which left Victoria with another 157 to get in 17.2 overs. Captain Nadif Chowdhury scored a 44-ball 50 and Dolar Mahmud chipped in with a 17-ball 29 at No. 10, but it was all in a losing cause as Victoria was bowled out for 199 in the 32nd over. Left-arm spinner Saleh Ahmed Shawon was the destroyer-in-chief, finishing with figures of 4 for 15 off seven overs, which earned him the Player-of-the-Match award.

Batting first, CCS had marched to 200 for 2 in the 41st over after Saif Hassan scored 78 off 79 and the other three top-four batsmen scored 40-odd each. That was followed by a collapse in the last ten overs as Kamrul Islam Rabbi and Sri Lankan left-arm spinner Chaturanga de Silva ripped through the middle and lower orders to finish with four wickets apiece. De Silva's four took his wicket tally for the tournament to 19. CCS slumped to 259 all out, but that proved to be more than enough as Victoria got nowhere near.

The match between Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club and Gazi Group Cricketers at the Shere Bangla National Stadium was interrupted by rain and will continue on the reserve day, on May 19. When play was called off for the day, Gazi Group Cricketers were 83 for 3 in 16.1 overs, chasing a D/L-adjusted target of 196 in 38 overs. The highlight of the day was Mohammad Sharif's hat-trick, which helped restrict Sheikh Jamal to 168 for 9 in their 38 overs.