Jahurul, Soumya script Abahani's eighth

Jahurul Islam smashed an unbeaten 127-ball 91 to help Abahani Limited chase down Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club's sub-par 224 for nine and win by four wickets during their Dhaka Premier League (DPL) encounter at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday. Before Jahurul's magnificent knock, Soumya Sarkar's four for 34 helped Abahani's cause. Doleshwar had the chance to ensure a Super League spot with a win yesterday but it was a resilient Abahani who got their eighth win of the tournament.

At the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah, it was Mahidul Islam Ankon's unbeaten 77 off 80 balls that helped Khelaghar Samaj Kallyan Samity register a 39-run victory -- their second of the tournament from nine games -- against bottom-placed Uttara Sporting Club.

Meanwhile, a low-scoring contest played out at the BKSP-3 ground where Legends of Rupganj bundled Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club for a paltry 141-run total and romped to an easy eight-wicket victory, courtesy of left-arm spinner Nabil Samad's economical figures of three for 30.

Photo: BCB File

Back in Mirpur, a failure to capitalise on starts could have been the main reason behind Doleshwar's failure on the day. Players like Farhad Hossain (47 off 60), Marshal Auyub (40 off 50) and Taibur Rahman (41 off 43) had started brilliantly but could not convert their scores into big ones. However, Abahani could thank Soumya -- a part-time bowler -- as he scalped the wickets of all three of the aforementioned players to set the tone for the win.

After the exchange, Jahurul continued his good run of form as he strung together an unbeaten 92-run seventh-wicket stand with Mohammad Saifuddin (55 off 69) to help Abahani cross the mark after the defending champions had struggled initially. Jahurul's unbeaten knock sees him to the top of the run-getters' list in the tournament with 522 runs and two centuries to his name.

In Fatullah, Uttara Sporting's Mohimenul Khan's 93 runs off 127 balls went in vain as he lacked support from other batsmen while chasing Khelaghar's 257 for four. Earlier, Mahidul's unbeaten knock was accompanied by Shahriar Komol's 56 and skipper Amit Majumder's 41 to help Khelaghar post a challenging total.

In the other game, after Nabil ran riot with the ball, a 96-run second-wicket partnership between Mohammad Naim (63 off 69) and Mominul Haque (60 not out) ensured Rupganj's eight-wicket victory with 128 balls to spare.

SCORES IN BRIEF

DOLESHWAR V ABAHANI

Doleshwar: 224 for 9 in 50 overs (Farhad 47, Taibur 41, Marshall 40; Soumya 4-32, Mashrafe 2-48)

Abahani: 227 for 6 in 48.5 overs (Jahurul 91 not out, Saifuddin 55 not out; Jayed 2-47)

Result: Abahani won by 4 wickets.

Player-of-the-match: Jahurul Islam.

SHEIKH JAMAL V LEGENDS OF RUPGANJ

Sheikh Jamal: 141 all out in 43.2 overs (Tanbir 35, Fardeen 28; Nabil 3-30, Muktar 3-33)

Rupganj: 145 for 2 in 28.4 overs (Naim 63, Mominul 60 not out, Mehedi 12; Enamul 1-32)

Result: Rupganj won by 8 wickets.

Player-of-the-match: Nabil Samad.

KHELAGHAR SKS V UTTARA SC

Khelaghar: 257 for 4 in 50 overs (Mahidul 77 not out, Shahriar 56, Majumder 41; Humayun 2-40, Mohimenul 2-40)

Uttara: 218 for 8 in 50 overs (Mohimenul 93, Minhajul 37; Robiul 2-18, Tanvir 2-39, Robiul 2-46)

Result: Khelaghar won by 39 runs.

Player-of-the-match: Mahidul Islam Ankon.