Captain Mahmudullah Riyad’s all-around performance helped Gazi Group Cricketers register their first win in the Bangabandhu Dhaka Premier League T20 competition as they beat Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club by seven wickets in the day’s second game at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.
After scalping two wickets with the ball, Mahmudullah’s unbeaten 62 alongside Bangladesh’s Test skipper Mominul Haque’s blistering fifty saw Gazi Group chase down the 152-run target with seven balls to spare.
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Sheikh Jamal started off well, riding on openers Mohammad Ashraful and Shykat Ali, who added 69 runs in eight overs. Both lashed out at the Gazi pacers and scored 42 off the first four overs.
The runs slowed down after the introduction of the spinners and, after scoring 33 off 30 balls with two sixes and three fours, Shykat was bowled by slow-medium pacer Soumya Sarkar.
At the other end, Ashraful looked in good touch, as exemplified by his four sixes, after scoring 38 in the first game. The right-hander once again looked solid and hit before Ariful Haque dismissed the Bangladesh skipper on 41 off 35 balls.
Mahmudullah then removed Nasir Hossain, who made 20 off 13, and Sheikh Jamal skipper Nurul Hasan as the batting side relinquished the early momentum provided by the openers. Only hard-hitting Ziaur Rahman’s 16-ball 21 helped Sheikh Jamal past the 150-run mark while pacer Mukidul Islam bagged two wickets for the bowling side.
Gazi Group were in a spot of bother in reply as opener Shahadat Hossain was dismissed for 13 by off-spinner Mohammad Enamul. The off-spinner then bowled Soumya Sarkar, who narrowly survived while trying to play a reverse sweep off the previous ball. He paid the price for trying to repeat that shot the very next ball, being bowled.
After that, Mominul — who batted at number seven in the previous game — was promoted to number three. He and Mahmudullah added 97 runs for the third wicket.
Mominul played the role of the aggressor with eight fours before being dismissed for a 36-ball 54 with, but Mahmudullah remained unbeaten on 62 off 51 balls, a knock featuring two sixes and four boundaries, and saw his side to an easy win.
In the day’s first game, Prime Doleshwar SC registered their first win of the tournament by beating Khelaghar SKS by 19 runs. Prime Doleshwar opener Imran Uzzaman started in a blistering mood, striking four sixes and three fours as he made 40 off just 17 balls. However, things unraveled after his departure in the fifth over of the innings and the Doleshwar batters slowed down. Saif Hasan’s 33-ball 28 was the second-highest score for the batting side, who posted 149 for six.
In reply, Khelaghar lost wickets at regular intervals. Rishad Hossain’s 19-ball 37 only served to narrow the margin of defeat in the end as they folded for 130. Kamrul Islam, Rejaur Rahman and Enamul Haque Jr picked up two wickets each for Doleshwar.
In the third match of the day, Prime Bank CC (120 for 7 in 19.3 overs) beat Shinepukur CC (120 all out in 20 overs) by three wickets.
