Mushy 104 goes in vain

Bangladesh pocket battleship and captain of Mohammedan Sporting Club Mushfiqur Rahim led from the front with a timely century but could not prevent his side being beaten by Victoria Sporting Club by two wickets in the latest round of matches in the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League 2016 today.

Batting first after winning the toss, Mohammedan piled up 247 for nine in 50 overs against Victoria Sporting Club at Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protisthan (BKSP) No.3 ground at Savar thanks to Mushy's 104 from 108 balls, which follows his 72 on the opening day of the league on Friday.

Mushfiqur smashed four fours and five sixes in this seventh ton in List A cricket. Ariful Haque gave the late impetus to Mohammedan's innings with 42 from 35. For Victoria Sporting Club, Suhrawadi Shuvo was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets for 29 in 10 overs.

Chasing the challenging total, Victoria Sporting were bolstered by runs at the top and middle order. Abdul Mazid’s 55 and Mominul Haque’s 67 from 69 balls kept their side in the game. Nadif Chowdhury’s unbeaten 51 from 39 ensured Victoria reach their target with eight balls to spare. For Mohammedan, Habibur Rahman, Enamul Haque jnr and Naeem Islam took two wickets each.

At the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah, legends of Rupganj pipped Gazi Group by three wickets. Gazi Group Cricketers posted 255 for eight in 50 overs after their captain Alok Kapali opted to bat first against Legends of Rupganj, led by Mosharraf Hossain. A solid performance from the top order allowed Gazi Group to score 255, with openers Anamul Haque and Shamsur Rahman contributing with 42 and 69 respectively. Saeed Anwar held the innings together with his 70 from 74 balls. He struck five fours and two sixes in his knock. Mosharraf and Ashar Zaidi grabbed two wickets each for Legends of Rupganj.

Rupganj were rocked early in their chase of 256, but Mohammad Mithun halted the slide with his 75 crucial runs. Asif Ahmed’s 54 and unbeaten cameo of 34 from Alauddin Babu took Rupganj home. For Gazi Group, Delwar Hossain, Mahedi Hasan and Alok Kapali took two wickets each.

At the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Brothers Union came out in front by six wickets against Kalabagan Cricket Academy. Brothers skipper Tushar Imran won the toss and decided to field first against Kalabagan Cricket Academy led by Mahmudul Hasan. Kalabagan were placed relatively well at 73 in 21 overs for the loss of only one wicket. However, Brothers Union fought back with Mohammad Shahid and Sanjit Saha and managed to restrict their opponent to 213 for seven in 50 overs. Kalabagan skipper Mahmudul top-scored with 54 from 62 while opener Irfan Sukkur made 42.

Brothers Union rode on skipper Imran’s unbeaten 67 and while Sean Williams contributed to his side’s win with an imperious knock of 70 runs from 81 balls. The fourth wicket stand allowed Brothers to win with 27 balls in the bag in the end.

Scores in Brief

Kalabagan CA: 213 for 7 (Mahmudul 54, Irfan 42, Taposh 30; Sanjit 2-23, Shahid 2-43)
Brothers Union: 214 for 4 in 45.3 overs (Williams 70, Tushar 67 not out, Nafees 26; Bishwanath 1-47, Mahmudul 1-50)
Result: Brothers Union won by 6 wickets.

Gazi Group: 255 for 8 (Anwar 70, Shamsur 69, Anamul 42; Soumya 2-14, Ashar 2-45, Mosharraf 2-52)
Legends of Rupganj: 256 for 7 in 49 overs (Mithun 75, Asif 54 not out, Ashar 37; Delwar 2-28, Mahedi 2-31, Kapali 2-42)
Result: Legends of Rupganj won by 3 wickets.

Mohammedan SC: 247 for 9 (Mushfiqur 104, Ariful 42 not out, Faisal 26; Shuvo 4-29, De Silva 2-41)
Victoria SC: 250 for 8 in 48.4 overs (Mominul 67, Mazid 55, Nadif 51 not out; Habibur 2-43, Enamul 2-49, Naeem 2-53)
Result: Victoria SC won by 2 wickets