Abahani Limited will look to continue their rich vein of form to clinch this season鈥檚 Dhaka Premier League title when they take on Prime Bank Cricket Club in the opening game of the Super League phase of the competition at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium today.
Defending champions Abahani finished the round-robin league stage of the tournament with a perfect record as they won all of their 11 matches, bagging 22 points to sit at the top of the points table.
To retain the title, the Sky Blues now only need three more victories, and they will eye to get the first of those in today鈥檚 clash against Prime Bank, who are the bottom side among the six in this stage with seven victories.
Prime Bank have an experienced core with Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, and Mohammad Mithun, along with consistent performers in Parvez Hossain Emon, Zakir Hasan, Shahadat Hossain Dipu, Mahedi Hasan, Hasan Mahmud, and Rejaur Rahman Raja, and to beat them, Abahani will need to repeat their performance from their previous meeting in the league phase.
In that encounter, the table-toppers scripted a 58-run win over the Zakir Hasan-led side courtesy of hundreds from Mohammad Naim [105] and Najmul Hossain Shanto [118], and three-wicket hauls from Taskin Ahmed and Tanzim Hasan Sakib.
However, Prime Bank will look to turn the tables against the defending champions and to achieve that success, their opening pair must find a steady start, something they did not find in the last game as they saw the quick dismissal of the veteran opener Tamim for just one, reducing them to 1-1 and also pushing them to the back foot at the onset of their innings.
Along with the batters, the Prime Bank bowling department will also need to come up with big guns as they conceded 341-4 against Abahani in their last game.
In the day鈥檚 other clash at BKSP-3, Shinepukur Cricket Club will face Gazi Group Cricketers, while Mohammedan Sporting Club will be playing against Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah, Narayanganj.
Shinepukur currently sit second in the league table, while Mohammedan, Sk Jamal, and Gazi Group are third, fourth, and fifth, respectively.
