Abahani back to winning ways

Abahani Ltd have come back to winning ways in the ongoing Dhaka Premier League T20 after a loss in the previous match as they beat Gazi Group Cricketers convincingly by seven wickets in Mirpur on Tuesday.

Twin fifties from Abahani skipper Mushfiqur Rahim and Mosaddek Hossain helped them chase down 151 with two overs to spare.

Gazi Group openers Mahedi Hasan and Soumya Sarkar provided an excellent platform for the batters to follow. They added 78 in nine overs before the former perished. Mahedi was the aggressor in the partnership, scoring 43 off 32. Soumya carried on until the final over and anchored the innings with 67 off 50. But apart from them, only Mominul Haque reached double figures. 

Abahani bowlers pulled things back really nicely and conceded only 21 runs in the last four overs. Gazi Group were restricted to 150 for eight after 20 overs. Leg-spinner Aminul Islam Biplob picked up two wickets for only 19.

In reply, Abahani were in trouble losing the top three inside the first ten overs. They needed 88 off the last 10 with Mushfiqur and Mosaddek in the middle.

These two made sure Abahani were in the chase and went after the bowlers after they were set. Mosaddek was the more aggressive of the two. The right-hander was, at one stage, nine off 11 balls but soon gained great momentum. Mosaddek reached fifty off only 28 deliveries. He remained unbeaten on 50.

Mushfiqur was not out on 53 off 35. They added an unbroken 105 for the fourth wicket and went past Gazi Group's total in 18 overs.

Mushfiqur Rahim was named player of the match.