Gazi smile on Nasir's return

Mohammedan surrendered meekly to Abahani and Prime Doleshwar continued their good run by beating Prime Bank but in yesterday's Dhaka Premier Division Cricket Super League's clashes, Nasir Hossain was the real hero.

Nasir returned home on Friday evening after playing the tri-series in Ireland and led from the front to return Gazi Group Cricketers to winning ways after three consecutive defeats in the Dhaka Premier League.

Neither the fatigue from the long trip nor the sudden change in weather -- he faced extreme heat after Dublin's chilled climate -- could stop him from playing a career-best knock of 134, which powered his team to a total of 350 for five against Sheikh Jamal DC in their second Super League match at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium.

After the exchange, pacer Abu Hider destroyed Sheikh Jamal's batting with a six-wicket haul to give Gazi Group a massive 177-run victory.

Abu Hider

"I knew everything would change once Nasir joined the team and he proved his abilities again. He eventually succumbed to the scorching heat, but not before playing a magnificent knock. Rony [Abu Hider] then did an excellent job with the ball," ecstatic Gazi Group coach Mohammad Salahuddin said.

In the 49th over Nasir returned to the pavilion as he retired hurt but before that, he put the opposition bowlers to the sword during his 113-ball 134 that contained seven fours and six sixes.

Nasir, who played the last match in the tri-series against New Zealand and contributed with two wickets in his side's five-wicket victory against the Kiwis, had made his earlier best score against Mohammedan in the first phase.

Gurkeerat Singh (74) and Mominul Haque (66) were the other notable scorers.

Gazi increased their tally to 20 points, but Abahani ensured that they did not gain an edge as the defending champions outclassed archrivals Mohammedan by five wickets at the BKSP, where the teams had played a high-scoring match in the first phase, to maintain their winning run in the Super League.

Left-arm spinner Saqlain Sajib joined forces with pacer Abu Jayed to annihilate the top order, and Manan Sharma did the rest by claiming four wickets to wrap up Mohammedan's innings for 100 runs.

Abahani's chase was highlighted by the devastating batting display of inform opener Liton Das, who smashed five sixes and four boundaries to make a 22-ball 50 as Abahani reached the target in 15.3 overs.

"Poor batting was absolutely the reason behind the massive defeat. I missed Rakibul [Hasan], who could not play due to a one-match suspension for [maintaining a] slow overrate in the previous match, and the injured Avishek Mitra," Mohammedan coach Sohel Islam lamented.

In another match at BKSP, Marshall Ayub and Shahriar Nafees hit fifties as Prime Doleshwar beat Prime Bank Cricket Club by six wickets.

Marshall scored an 89-ball 84 with ten fours and a six, while Nafees added 78 off 129 balls with six fours and a six as Doleshwar overtook Prime Bank's 241 runs with six wickets and eight balls to spare.

SCORES IN BRIEF 

MOHAMMEDAN: 100 all out in 33.4 overs (Shamsur 23, Sajedul 16; Jayed 2-23, Manan 4-21,  Saqlain 3-24)

ABAHANI: 104-5 in 15.3 overs (Liton 50, Shadman 24 not out; Jubair 2-18, Shamsur 2-7)

Result: Abahani won by five wickets.

Player-of-the-match: Saqlain Sajib.

GAZI GROUP: 350-5 in 50 overs (Munim 35, Mominul 66, Nasir 134, Gurkeerat 74; Ziaur 2-56, Sunny 2-61)

SHEIKH JAMAL: 173 all out in 38.1 overs (Chopra 37, Mamun 25, Ziaur 46, Rajin 25; Abu Hider 6-35, Gurkeerat 2-27)

Result: Gazi Group Cricketers won by 177 runs. 

Player-of-the-match: Nasir Hossain 

PRIME BANK: 241-8 in 50 overs (Maruf 44, Easwaran 71, Asif 62 not out; Sunny 2-40, Bhatia 3-50)

PRIME DOLESHWAR: 242-4 in 48.4 overs (Imtiaz 32, Nafees 78, Marshall 84, Bhatia 23 not out; Raihan 2-28)

Result: Prime Doleshwar won by six wickets.

Player-of-the-match: Marshall Ayub