Little-known Mahedi Hasan struck a blazing hundred as newcomer Gazi Group Cricketers shocked defending champions Prime Bank with a 106-run defeat as Dhaka Premier League began at different venues on Friday. Mahedi made an impressive debut in DPL with his 103 runs to guide Gazi Group to 303-4 before they dismissed the opponents for 197 runs in 46.3 overs at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
In the other matches, leg-spinner Jubair Hossain’s six-for gave Abahani a thumping seven-wicket win over Kalabagan Krira Chakra and Imtiaz Hossain’s 100-run innings helped Prime Dholeshwar clinch a comfortable eight-wicket victory over newly promoted Cricket Coaching School.
Prime Bank v Gazi Group
Batsman Mahedi‘s brilliant hundred left reigning champions Prime Bank awe struck as newcomer Gazi Group began their Dhaka Premier League campaign with a warning bell for other clubs.
Gazi were considered with very little chance of upsetting some big names in the DPL as they failed to include stars during the players’ transfer window.
On top of it, dropping seasoned domestic campaigner Elias Sunny from the starting XI and opting to debut four local cricketers in the DPL just came up as a big surprise.
Mahedi was one of the four debutants but the way he managed to showcase his skill that left very little doubts on his ability as well as chance of his team to go a long way.
Sent into bat, Gazi openers, formed with national discard Anamul Haque (67) and Shamsur Rahman (56) gave them a perfect start with a 113-run stand.
Mahedi exploited the base and demonstrated some eye catching strokes on his way to a blistering hundred as Prime bowlers failed to find an answer when they were put under his wrath.
The 21-year old scored 103 runs from 89 balls with eight fours and five sixes and the youngster showed his confidence by dispatching a Rubel Hossain short ball with complete control for four to reach the three-figure mark.
Gazi’s ploy of providing youngsters opportunities earned them more rich dividends as another debutant Faruk Hossain played a cameo off 22 not out off just eight balls to help them past 300-run mark.
While defending the score Left arm spinner Saeed Anwar jr picked up 3-31 to reduce Prime to 5-61 before their later order batsmen Yasir Ali (56) and Rubel Hossain (45) added some runs that could just reduce the margin.
National cricketer Shuvagata Hom (4) missed the line to be the first victim of Saeed while Sabbir Rahman and Nurul Hasan followed him soon to end all their aspirations.
Abahani v Kalabagan
Leg spinner Jubair Hossain’s six-wicket haul helped title aspirant Abahani register a comfortable seven-wicket win over Kalabagan as they reached 142-3 in 26.1 overs after dismissing Kalabagan for 140 runs.
Jubair, who is not considered as a limited over prospect by many, wrecked through the Kalabagan batting line-up with his 6-34 and the young leggie boosted his confidence for the remainder of the season.
After being introduced as the fifth bowler, Jubair began his carnage through removing Hamilton Masakadza (41) and picked up two more wickets on successive overs to push Kalabagan on the back foot.
Indian Uday Kaul made unbeaten 44 runs while Nazmul Hossain scored undefeated 35 runs to coast Abahani to the victory without any trouble though their star opener Tamim Iqbal failed to shine making just seven runs before being run out.
CCS v Prime Dholeshwar
Opener Imtiaz Hossain scored the second hundred of the season when he scored 100 runs to help Prime Doleshwar earn a comfortable eight-wicket win over CCS.
Imtiaz made 100 runs while his opening partner Rony Talukdar scored 47 in their 106-run opening stand to help Dholehwar reach 181-2 in 45.2 overs after dismissing CCS for 177 runs.
Imtiaz struck 12 boundaries in his 140-ball innings.
Earlier, Al-Amin Hossain up picked 3-36 while newcomer Rejaul Karim grabbed 3-22 to help Doleshwar bundle out the opponents for a lowly score.
Brief Scores
Gazi Group Cricketers v Prime Bank Cricket Club
Gazi Group 303-4 in 50 overs (Mahedi Hasan 103, Anamul 67, Shamsur 56) v Prime Bank 197 in 46.3 overs (Yasir 56, Sabbir 31; Saeed Anwar 3-31, Sharif 2-22)
Result: Gazi Group Cricketers won by 106 runs.
Man of the match: Mahedi Hasan (GGC)
******
Cricket Coaching School v Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club
Cricket Coaching School 177 in 49.2 overs (Pinak 35, Saeed 34, Saifuddin 31; Rejaul 3-22, Al-Amin 3-36) v Prime Doleshwar 181-2 in 45.2 overs (Imtiaz 100, Rony 47)
Result: Prime Doleshwar won by 8 wickets.
Man of the match: Imtiaz Hossain (PDSC)
******
Abahani Limited v Kalabagan Krira Chakra
Kalabagan 140 in 33.1 overs (Masakadza 41, Tasamul 37; Jubair Hossain 6-34; Saqlain 2-25) v Abahani 142-3 in 28.3 overs (Kaul 44 not out, Shanto 35 not out, Avishek 32)
Result: Abahani Limited won by 7 wickets.
Man of the match: Jubair Hossain (Abahani)
-With New Age input
