Mustafizur Rahman returned to the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League with a timely reminder of his class, claiming four wickets for 30 runs to steer Abahani Limited to a commanding victory over Legends of Rupganj on Saturday. The left-arm seamer’s devastating spell proved the decisive factor in a match that also featured a magnificent century from Irfan Sukkur and a fighting half-century from Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
Rupganj won the toss and elected to bat, but made a wretched start. Mustafizur struck in the fifth over, trapping star batsman Mahmudul Hasan Joy lbw to draw first blood. With three wickets down for just 39 runs, Rupganj were in serious trouble before Liton Kumar Das and Irfan Sukkur steadied the innings with a measured partnership. Liton contributed 43 before departing, but Sukkur pressed on in remarkable fashion.
Batting at number five, Mehidy Hasan Miraz joined Sukkur in a match-defining stand of 147 runs that gave Rupganj the platform for a competitive total. Miraz struck 72 off 70 balls before falling, while Sukkur produced a superb 119 off 99 deliveries, an innings laced with 11 boundaries and four sixes. However, Mustafizur returned to dismantle the lower order, removing Samiun Basir, Nasum Ahmed and Abdul Halim in quick succession to bowl Rupganj out for 275 in 48.4 overs. His final figures of 4-30 from 9.4 overs at an economy rate of 3.10 were a masterclass in controlled seam bowling.
Chasing 276, Abahani set about their target with intent from the outset. Opener Najmul Hossain Shanto provided an aggressive start with 30 off 23 balls, and captain Mosaddek Hossain Saikat blazed 26 off just 12 deliveries, hitting four sixes in a cameo that shifted the momentum decisively. Rupganj captain Sheikh Mahedi Hasan applied some pressure in the middle order, taking three wickets for 30 runs, but Abahani always had the chase under control.
Jaker Ali Anik ensured there would be no late wobble, anchoring the innings with an unbeaten 33 off 30 balls, which included two fours and two sixes. A brisk late contribution of 14 not out from Rakibul Hasan off eight balls sealed the win in emphatic fashion. Abahani reached their target of 167 in just 18.5 overs, losing seven wickets, in what was ultimately a straightforward Duckworth-Lewis adjusted victory.
The result moves Abahani to second place in the standings with 14 points from nine matches, two points behind leaders Mohammedan with three rounds of the league remaining.
