Title tussle set up for last day

Will Abahani lift the Dhaka Premier League title for the 17th time? Or will the most competitive 50-over domestic competition of the country witness a new champion? With the last round of the Super League to take place today, the above questions will be buzzing in the country's cricketing circles.

As much as people enjoy witnessing the underdogs win, the fact remains that Abahani are the favourites to become champions today. They are more likely to win the title race ahead of Legends of Rupganj and Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club.

The Tamim Iqbal-led side will take on Prime Bank Cricket Club at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, while Rupganj will play Prime Doleshwar at the BKSP in Savar. At the moment, Abahani are on top of the table with 20 points in 14 games. Rupganj are second with 20 points from 15, while Prime Doleshwar are third with 18 points from 14. 

If Abahani and Rupganj both win their games today, then Abahani will be declared champions. Even though the two teams will be tied on 20 points, Abahani will top the table on account of more matches won.

However, if both Abahani and Rupganj lose their respective matches, it will then be a three-way tie between Abahani, Rupganj and Prime Doleshwar. If that is the scenario, then the game between Abahani and Prime Doleshwar, which had to be indefinitely postponed due to the umpires leaving the field, will be crucial. In the case of a three-way tie, the winner of the game between Abahani and Prime Doleshwar will take the championship.  A decision regarding that game is expected to be announced today.

A third possibility is if Abahani lose and Rupganj win. In that case as well, the postponed game will play a key role for Abahani. Abahani will need to beat Prime Doleshwar in order to win the championship.

Going by the current form of the teams, Abahani are expected to beat Prime Bank. With a number of their players in form, it will be difficult for Prime Bank, who have not really put up inspired performances in the recent past, to win the match today. With the likes of Shakib Al Hasan, Mosaddek Hossain, Liton Das and Dinesh Kartik going great guns, Abahani are favourites to win today.

The clash between Rupganj and Prime Doleshwar is harder to call. Doleshwar have a more balanced team with more match-winners but Rupganj have shown plenty of spirit in the tournament so far.

There will also be a third game between Mushfiqur Rahim's Mohammedan and Mominul Haque's Victoria Sporting. The result of the match though will be inconsequential, considering that both teams are already out of the championship race.