Abahani outclass Mohammedan to lift their 24th DPL title

Abahani had dropped four points in the first phase, so they needed to keep winning in the Super League phase, where the top six teams from the first phase play each other once again. Mohammedan Sporting Club had pursued them right to the last game, setting up a finale at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Tuesday.

Abahani outclassed Mohammedan in the title-deciding game, winning by six wickets with 56 balls to spare. Mohammedan were mired in controversy last week. Towhid Hridoy was banned for one game for arguing with the umpire Sharfuddoula about an lbw appeal, but it was extended to two matches when he made an outburst in the post-match press conference on April 12.

The BCB's umpires committee chairman Iftekhar Ahmed reduced Hridoy's ban to one game, which allowed him to play Mohammedan's April 20 match against Agrani Bank. By now, umpire Sharfuddoula was among the two BCB employees to resign, reportedly in protest of the decision to reduce the ban. Enamul Haque was the other, who resigned from his post on the DPL's technical committee.

The BCB then announced that Hridoy would have to serve the ban for that game, which was followed by a group of players, led by Tamim Iqbal, to meet the BCB officials on April 25. Tamim called the incident "laughable", after which the BCB reneged from their position. Hridoy was now available for Mohammedan's next match against Gazi Group Cricketers on April 26. However, during that game, Hridoy was found guilty of reacting to his dismissal, for which he incurred another demerit point. It got to eight points in total, which meant he was now banned for four games. He didn't appear in Mohammedan's DPL finale against Abahani.

Anamul Haque finished the tournament with 874 runs in 14 innings, including four centuries and as many fifties. It was yet another massive season for the opening batter, who took his centuries tally across all formats to 51. Apart from the obvious celebration, bigger news was waiting for him. The national selectors picked him for the second Test against Zimbabwe, his first in nearly three years.

Left-hand opener Parvez Hossain Emon finished on 798 runs, while Mohammad Naim made 618, his 176 being the highest individual score of the season. Amite Hasan was the other batter to cross the 600-run mark this DPL.

It was hard to get past Abahani in the middle overs throughout the campaign, as Mosaddek Hossain and left-arm spinner Rakibul Hasan cut down the runs significantly. The pair took 30 wickets each, and finished as the joint-top wicket-takers for the season. Among fast bowlers, Mohammad Saifuddin took 24 wickets to finish third while left-arm quick Shoriful Islam picked up 21.

Mohammedan got into the position as title contenders thanks to their last-ball win against Gazi Group Cricketers in their penultimate match. Nasum Ahmed was their batting hero, hitting two sixes and a four in his unbeaten 13-ball 21, as they chased down Gazi Group's 237-run target off the final ball.

Abahani kept their nerve in the last game, but Mohammedan made a fair run for it. In the end, they needed a win in the league's last game to get ahead in the head-to-head count. It was also an impressive season for Gazi Group and Legends of Rupganj, while Agrani Bank and Gulshan Cricket Club were good as first-timers.