Afif Hossain, Anamul Haque, and Mosaddek Hossain hit fifties to guide Abahani Limited to their 23rd Dhaka Premier League title as they defeated Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club by four wickets in the Super League stage of the ongoing Dhaka Premier League 2024 at the BKSP-4 ground on Tuesday.
The victory means Abahani have defended their title with two matches in hand.听
Afif made an 88-ball 83, and the next highest 67 came from Anamul Haque, while skipper Mosaddek scored an unbeaten 53 runs off 54 balls to propel them to 273-6 in 49.5 overs in reply to 267-9 by Sk Jamal.
Ziur Rahman hit a quick-fire 85 off 58 balls听while听Shakib Al Hasan, who came back from a break after playing in three league stage games, chipped in with 49 runs off 56 balls with the help of two fours and three maximums.听
Pacer Tanzim Hasan Sakib and left-arm spinner Rakibul Hasan each took three wickets, while off-spinner Nahidul Islam picked up two听wickets.听
Abahani,听who featured听without seven national team members due to the Tigers鈥� home series against Zimbabwe, suffered a blow early on, losing听opener,听Sabbir听Hossain,听for six to Shakib.听
However, they managed to overcome the damage as Mohammad Naim and Anamul combined for 50 runs before the former was dismissed by Shafiqul Islam for 21, leaving the side at 60-2.听
In the next partnership, Afif and Anamul came up with a tenacious approach, which saw them add 103 runs for the third wicket before the latter was dismissed by Saif Hasan.
The following stand strengthened the Sky Blues鈥� position as Afif, who was leading the charge, added 50 runs with Mosaddek to take the defending champions beyond 200.听
However, Afiif lost his way when Taibur Rahman tricked him into giving a catch to Yasir Ali Chowdhury, which left Abahani still requiring 55 runs off 47 balls with no pinch hitter on the bench.听
Mosaddek then took the onus to orchestrate the innings听as he听initially shared a 38-run stand with Nahidul to release the pressure to take his side closer to victory before losing his partner for 24 to Shafiqul Islam.
Thereafter, he drew the finishing touch by hitting six in the penultimate ball of the innings before sharing an eight and 13-run stand with Sakib and Rakibul, respectively, to gain another winner鈥檚 medal.听
Earlier, sent in to bat, Sk Jamal made a shaky start听losing听their top-order trio of Saif, Fazle Mahmud Rabbi, and Taibur Rahman for one, four, and zero, respectively, leaving them reeling them at 15-3.
Opener Shykat Ali and Shakib then shared a crucial 72-run stand to curb the loss before the former听was nicked听by Nahidul.
Then听riding听on Shakib and Ziaur, Sk Jamal racked up a humble total.听
In the day鈥檚 other two games, Prime Bank Cricket Club registered a crushing seven-wicket win over Gazi Group Cricketers at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah, while听Mohammedan Sporting Club managed a slim eight-run victory over Shinepukur Cricket Club at the BKSP Ground -3.
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ROLL OF HONOUR
Season听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 Winners
2014鈥�15:听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Prime Bank
2015鈥�16:听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Abahani Limited
2016鈥�17:听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Gazi Group Cricketers
2017鈥�18:听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Abahani Limited
2018鈥�19:听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Abahani Limited
2019鈥�20:听听听听听听听听听听听听听 abandoned due to Covid-19
2020鈥�21:听听听听听听听听听听听听听 cancelled due to Covid-19
2021鈥�22:听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Sheikh Jamal DC
2022鈥�23:听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Abahani Limited
2023鈥�24:听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Abahani Limited
