Abahani off with huge win

Abahani Limited started their Dhaka Premier League 2023 campaign with a huge win as they beat Brothers Union by 124 runs at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on Thursday.

In the other matches of the day, Mohammedan SC did not get off to a good start to the season as they were hammered by 128 runs by Gazi Group Cricketers, while Shinepukur CC claimed a comfortable victory over Rupganj Tigers.

Anamul stars with ton

Abahani opener Anamul Haque was the star of the show for them on Thursday as he picked up his first ton of the season, keeping up his good form from last season, where he ended up being the highest run-scorer.

The batter’s 123 off 118 balls, where he hit six fours and six sixes, along with opening partner Mohammad Naim’s 85 runs off 74 balls set the tone for Abahani as they put on a massive 372-6 on board, with assistance from Afif Hossain and Mosaddek Hossain in the middle, who scored 65 off 47 balls and 46 off 27 balls respectively.

In reply, despite opener Mizanur Rahman picking up a ton and Myshukur Rahman scoring 73, Brothers did little to even concern Abahani as their scoring rate was slow, meaning they played out the 50 overs but could only manage 248-6.

Mohammedan battered

While the top-order worked the charm for Abahani, it was the middle-order that allowed Gazi Group to put a mammoth 349-6 on board against Mohammedan in Narayanganj.

Indian batter Ravi Teja scored 62 but it was skipper Akbar Ali’s 59 off 54 balls and youngster Meherob Hossain’s unbeaten 62 off 43 balls, alongside a late cameo from Mahmudul Hasan who scored 27 off 13 balls, which allowed Gazi to post that huge total.

In reply, Mohammedan were off to a good start as Soumya Sarkar (16) and Rony Talukdar (80) added 48 runs in 45 balls before the former fell.

From there, only Rony and Mahmudullah Riyad (58) managed to go past fifty and the Mohammedan chase faltered as they were bowled out for 221 to suffer a 128-run defeat.

Aminul guides Shinepukur

At BKSP, Rupganj Tigers could only manage 216-6 in their innings as they were stifled by Shinepukur bowlers, and while skipper Naeem Islam (86) and Mominul Haque (65) struck fifties, their lowish strike rate did not help their cause.

In reply, despite Sangeeth Malindu Cooray’s fifty, Shinepukur was in trouble at one point as they had lost six wickets with 54 runs still to get.

However, Aminul Islam Biplob came through and struck an unbeaten fifty to ensure that their campaign got off to a winning start.