A cameo half century by Mosaddek Hossain saw Abahani Limited post an impressive five-wicket victory over Prime Bank Cricket Club in Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League held on Wednesday at BKSP ground in Savar.
Chasing a winning target of 241 runs set by Prime Bank, Abahani Limited hardly had to toil as their star Indian signing Yousuf Pathan, skipper Tamim Iqbal and Nazmul Hossain Shanto provided a smooth platform as later all rounder Mosaddek explosive knock well supported by Liton Das strolled to 243 for the loss of five wickets with a luxury of having 33 balls in hand.
20-year old batsman Mosaddek who hails from Mymensingh, won his second consecutive man of the match award for Abahani, hammering an impressive unbeaten 64-run off 47 balls laced with four towering over boundaries and four delightful boundaries. He was well supported by wicketkeeper Liton Das with 25 not out as they put on priceless 88 runs off 85 balls for the unfinished sixth wicket partnership.
India recruit Yousuf Patha, Shakib’s KKR colleague playing his first match scored an excellent 60 runs off 47 deliveries to give Abahani a perfect start. Skipper Tamim Iqbal with 40 off 46 balls along with Nazmul Hossain Shanto (32) took the early initiative for the Dhanmondi ‘outfit’ Abahani.
Shuvagata Hom was the pick bowler of Prime Bank as he grabbed three wickets conceding 38 runs. He was well supported by Nazmul Islam who claimed two wickets giving away 51 runs.
Earlier, Prime Bank Cricket Club managed to score 240 for 9 on the board after Abahani Limited Captain Tamim Iqbal invited Prime Bank to bat first. Prime Bank endured a shaky start and was struggling at 4-79 inside 20 overs, however their middle order came to the rescue with crucial partnerships of 35, 45 and 50 for the 4th, 5th and 6th wicket partnership respectively.
Nurul Hasan was the leading scorer for Prime Bank with a responsible knock of 46 from 54 balls while Taibur supported him with 43 runs.
Shakib Al Hasan, who returned to List A cricket for Abahani after a break of six years in the last match grabbed four wickets for 35 runs in 10 overs. Shakib sent back Sabbir Rahman, Unmukt Chand, Mehedi Maruf and Nazmul Islam to stall Prime Bank. Saqlain Sajib chipped in with an impressive figure of 3-37.
This win enable Abahani to earn 12 from 10 outing while Prime Bank Limited club had to remain on 10 points playing a same number of matches.
