High-scoring chase caps off exciting day

Prime Bank Cricket Club pacer Al-Amin Hossain bagged a fifer to help his side bundle out Bangladesh KriraShikkhaProtisthan (BKSP) for a meagre 50-run total and win the game by a mammoth 172 runs during their Dhaka Premier League (DPL) encounter at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah yesterday.

Meanwhile Dhaka's Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur witnessed an exciting match as Delwar Hossain put in an all-round performance,bagging decisive figures of five for 46 with the ball before a crucial19-ball 34-run cameo withthe bat to help Shinepukur Cricket Club chase down 324-run total posted by Mohammedan Sporting Club and win by two wickets.

At BKSP-3, Brothers Union let an easy win slip out of their graspas a middle order batting collapse -- courtesy of Gazi Group bowler Nasum Ahmed's five for 49, his best figure in List A -- saw Gazi Group defend a below-par 206-run total to win by nine runs.

Al-Amin ran riot at Fatullahas BKSP batsmen hadlittle clue about how to survive through his spells. Except Shamim Hossain's run-out in the 10thover, all five other top order wickets were scalped by the right-arm medium fast bowler. When Al-Amin rattled the stumps of Abdul Kayium in the 11thover, BKSP were left reeling on 26 for six and they never recovered. Parvez Hossain Emon (15 off 37) remained the only BKSP batsmen to have reached two-figure mark as BKSP suffered a huge defeat.

Earlier, although Prime Bank batsman Abhimanyu Easwaran missed out on his century for eight runs, scoring 92 off 109 balls, a half-ton from Nahidul Islam at the death saw Prime Bank post a challenging 222 for eight.

Meanwhile in Mirpur, Shinepukur pulled off a dramatic win over Mohammedan as they chased down a 300-plus total with two balls to spare. After being asked to bat first, Mohammedan got off to an incredible start.Contributions from their top-order and middle-order with LitonDas (84 off 89), Irfan Sukkur (50 off 66), Avishek Mitra (50 off 59), Raqibul Hasan (74 off 48) and Shohag Gazi (45 off 22) amongst the runs, helped Mohammedan reach an above-par total.

After the exchange, Shinepukur never looked on course to chase down the mammoth total untilthe 118-run sixth-wicket stand between Afif Hossain and Amite Hasan. However, after Amite (43 off 49) and Afif (97 off 86) fell in the 41stand 44thover, it was Delwar, who struck three sixes in penultimate over and decided the fate of the game.

In the other game, after Gazi Group posted a below-par total, Nasum Ahmed returned his best List A figures and ensured Brothers suffer a middle and lower order collapse, eventually falling short on the day.

SCORES IN BRIEF

PRIME BANK V BKSP

Prime Bank: 222 for eight in 50 overs (Easwaran 92, Nahidul 50; Murad 2-35)

BKSP: 50 all out in 22 overs (Parvez 15; Al-Amin 5-20, Nayeem 2-6)

Result: Prime Bank won by 172 runs.

Player-of-the-match: Al-Amin Hossain.

MOHAMMEDAN V SHINEPUKUR

Mohammedan: 324 all out in 49.3 overs (Liton 84, Raqibul 74; Delwar 5-46)

Shinepukur: 325 for eight in 49.4 overs (Afif 97, Delwar 34; Gazi 2-40)

Result: Shinepukur won by 2 wickets.

Player-of-the-match: Delwar Hossain.

GAZI GROUP V BROTHERS UNION

Gazi Group: 206 all out in 49.4 overs (Kamran 81, Mahedi 48; Sajedul 4-54)

Brothers Union: 197 all out in 48.5 overs (Junaid 72, Fazle 31; Nasum 5-49)

Result: Gazi Group won by nine runs.

Player-of-the-match: Nasum Ahmed.