Abahani overcome Jayasuriya blitz and Mohammedan scare

WE CAN CELEBRATE NOW! Abahani players rush to congratulate their captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza (L) after he has just dismissed dangerman Sanath Jayasuriya (not in picture) during their Premier Cricket League match against Mohammedan at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday

Abahani went into the Dhaka derby without five front-line bowlers. Their brave captain and country's number one paceman Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, who was instructed not to bend his injured back, had to bowl off-spin, a rare sight for the Dhaka crowd. Still, they won against a better-health Mohammedan quite convincingly despite some degree of fireworks from Sanath Jayasuriya

On Sunday the platform however was perfect for Mohammedan and a non-performing Jayasuriya to end a dismal run in the league so far. The champion Sri Lankan left-hander, who scored two and nine in his previous two games, started in style by sending the depleted Abahani attack to the ropes before Mashrafe's off-spin stopped him on 42 in front of a sparse crowd at the big bowl.

His departure saw Mohammedan collapse from a prosperous 144 for 4 to 198 all out in 47.4 overs. They lost their last six wickets for 54 runs.

Holders Abahani were understandably cautious in their chase of the moderate target and they were in pole position until excitement crept when they were left to score 21 runs from the last three overs.

But man-of-the-match Sahagir Hossain finished the chase in style by clubbing two consecutive boundaries after Mashrafe hit the first against pacer Tareq Aziz in the penultimate over as Abahani posted 201 for 5 with seven balls to spare.

The wicketkeeper-batsman, Sahagir was unbeaten on 41 and hit three fours and a six during his 52-ball knock but it was Abahani's new Indian recruit Ranjan PR Parida who shared a vital 74 runs with Imran Ahmed for the third wicket to steady the ship after the departure of two openers -- Tamim Iqbal (24) and Rony Talukdar (4) -- for 41 runs.

The right-hander from Orissa fell victim of an unfortunate run out for 46 that came from 64 deliveries with the help of five sweetly-timed boundaries.

But it could have been a different story had Rokibul, who was earlier run out for a duck for unnecessarily chasing a single, not dropped the Indian at extra cover off Sohrawordi Shuvo when he was on 20.

Imran made 38 off 80 balls with two fours before left-arm pacer Sajedul Islam bowled him.

Earlier, Jayasuriya and Nadimuddin gave Mohammedan a watchful start before the veteran Sri Lankan cut loose. The left-hander was particularly savage against Abahani's reserve paceman Shahadat Hossain during his 40-ball 42.

Jayasuriya smashed four boundaries and two big sixes -- one each against Shahadat and left-arm spinner Arafat Sunny -- before Mashrafe removed the dangerman in his very first over. Jayasuriya charged down the wicket, looking for another big six but was caught at midwicket by Rony much to the relief of the Abahani tent.

Mohammedan suddenly lost their way after two stupid run out dismissals of Farhad Hossain (47 off 81 balls) and Rokibul while Arafat Sunny caused the damage in the middle by taking three wickets, evaporating Mohammedan's chances of crossing the 200-mark as well as using their full quota of overs.

"I think boys showed great characters today. I told everybody to enjoy the game and forget about injury problems and they did exactly that. I think it's all about courage which helped us to win the game," said a delighted Mashrafe after the match.

BRIEF SCORES

MOHAMMEDAN: 198 all out in 47.4 overs (Nadimuddin 22, Jayasuriya 42, Farhad 47, Marshal 27, Faisal 27, extras 15: Nasir 1-22, Sunny 3-43, Mashrafe 2-35, Rezaul 1-33)

ABAHANI: 201-5 in 48.5 overs (Tamim 24, Rony 4, Imran 38, Ranjan 46, Sahagir 41 not out, Nasir 13, Mashrafe 11 not out, extras 24; Jayasuriya 1-33, Shuvo 1-28, Farhad 1-18, Sajedul 1-30)

Result: Abahani won by five wickets.

Source : The Daily Star
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Dhaka derby today | Chance to end Jayasuriya's Dhaka jinx

Sanath Jayasuriya is feared in the cricket world for his devastating display of batting. The champion Sri Lankan left-hander, however, has done little to justify his abilities in Dhaka cricket so far. But he might get a good chance to end his Dhaka jinx when his side Mohammedan Sporting Club face off their bitter rivals Abahani in the Premier Cricket League at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur today.

The good news for Jayasuriya and Mohammedan is that Abahani will be without their pace battery and might opt for an all-spin attack in the Dhaka derby.

The Dhanmondi giants are perched on top of the table with 16 points from nine games while Mohammedan are currently at fourth position with 11 points after equal number of matches.

However, the points table could mean little as Abahani go into the match with as many as five injuries to their frontline bowlers. Captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza has a back complaint while Talha Jubair and all-rounder Ziaur Rahman are inflicted with jaundice, pace bowler Subhashish Roy is meting out with typhoid and Tigers pacer Nazmul Hossain has a swelling in his knee.

In the face of such myriad injuries, the Sky Blues are left with a tough task against a much-improved Mohammedan, who conquered co-sharer in the top spot Bangladesh Biman in the last round, on a batting-friendly Mirpur wicket.

But despite injury concerns Abahani captain Mashrafe has said that his team are fully focused to overcome the odds.

"We have a lot of injuries and it might lead us to turn to all-spin attack. But we are ready to take the challenge. We perceive the match as an important one because every points won would be carried forward to the next stage", said Mashrafe.

He also added: "I am most probably not bowling in the match, but we will try and capitulate them with our spinners."

When asked about how big a factor Jayasuriya might be, Mashrafe said: "We will value each of their wickets equally, but yes Sanath is the most experienced player in the world so there is every reason to fear him, but we will try our hearts out to contest above level terms with Mohammedan."

Mohammedan are also nursing three injuries in their camp ahead of today's encounter.

Opening batsman Nasiruddin Faruk is down with a groin injury while bowler Emon has hurt his shoulder when fielding against Biman in Mohammedan's last match and Shamsur Rahman Shuvo is recovering from fever.

Abahani's foreign reserve has also suffered after Indian procure Venugopal Rao flew back home. They have, however, drafted in Orissan batsman Rashmi Ranjan Parida in Rao's place.

For Mohammedan, a victory will not only confirm their place in the Super Six but also enable them to reduce the gap with the leaders.

The injuries in the camp could lead to the inclusion of batsman Farhad Hossain and opening bowler Sajidul Hasan in the side.

In other matches of the Premier Cricket League, Biman play Cricket Coaching School at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium and BKSP meet Gazi Tank at BKSP.

Source : The Daily Star
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Mohammedan win despite Jayasuriya's Dhaka Jinx

Sri Lankan great Sanath Jayasuriya continued his Dhaka jinx but Mohammedan rode on Tareq Aziz's heroics with bat and ball to shoot Biman down with a two-wicket victory, in an exciting encounter of the Premier Division Cricket League at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.

MOHAMMEDAN Vs BIMAN

The dashing left-hander Jayasuriya scored only two runs but it was former Tigers paceman Aziz who hogged the spotlight in the clash of the heavyweights.

Tareq first claimed four wickets conceding 36 runs as Biman were all out for 231 runs in 48.5 overs, after opting to bat first despite opener Nazmus Sadat's stroke-filled 80.

Tareq then played a pivotal part with the bat in front of a sparse crowd at the big bowl as the number ten batsman smashed a straight six off spinner Nabil Samad, which brought the winning runs for Mohammedan with two balls to spare.

One down Nadimuddin however top scored with 51 off 91 balls that featured three fours and a six while Nasiruddin Faruque and Faisal Hossain scored 38 runs each.

Earlier Sadat smoted eight fours and three sixes during his 70-ball 80 while skipper Sanwar Hossain contributed 41 off 68 balls with one boundary as Biman put up a decent total on the board.

Besides Tareq, pacer Dollar Mahmud claimed three wickets for 51 runs while Jayasuriya took two for 38 runs.

BRIEF SCORES
BIMAN: 231 all out in 48.5 overs (Sadat 80, Zahid 20, Sanwar 41, Mushfiqur 24, extras 22; Tareq 4-36, Jayasuriya 2-38, Dollar 3-51)

MOHAMMEDAN: 234-8 in 49.4 overs (Faruque 38, Nadimuddin 51, Rokibul 27, Shamsur 28, Faisal 38, extras 16; Shahadat 3-38, Nabil 2-49)

Result: Mohammedan won by two wickets.

Source : The Daily Star
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Sanath surprise | Jayasuriya in Dhaka to play for Mohammedan Sporting Club

ARRIVED HERE SAFELY! Dashing Sri Lankan opener Sanath Jayasuriya is on his cell phone as he comes out of the Zia International Airport yesterday. He is in Dhaka to play for Mohammedan Sporting Club in the on-going Premier League

A day after the mayhem in Lahore, dashing Sri Lanka opener Sanath Jayasuriya arrived in the capital yesterday to play in the ongoing Premier Cricket League.

Struggling Mohammedan Sporting Club pulled off the surprise by bringing in the first big name for this year in the most coveted domestic competition in a bid to salvage the complete blushes. They have only five points from six matches to seven points adrift of table-toppers Biman.

Jayasuriya is expected to play his first match today against BKSP at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium.

It was highly unlikely to meet the former Sri Lankan skipper in Dhaka a day after a cowardly attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team's bus in Lahore, on Tuesday morning, which left eight men dead and several Lankan cricketers injured.

The obvious question for the veteran cricketer was how he felt about the terrorist attack on any sportsman for the first time.

"The incident was a shocking one. I'm very disappointed and for the first time this kind of attack has happened in cricket," responded the 39-year old Jayasuriya, who has so far played 110 Tests and 432 ODIs.

"But it is a relief for us that all the cricketers are alive and the injuries are not life threatening," said the Matara Hurricane, who got the news first from one of his friends and contacted his colleagues over phone.

There has been a lot of talking about the future of Pakistan cricket and hosting the 2011 World Cup that will jointly hosted by India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. But Jayasuriya was not ready to comment on management issues.

Back to cricket, the experienced campaigner said that he would try his best for Mohammedan who are all but out of the championship race.

"I will try my best and I want to share my experience to help my team but it's a team game," he said.

But the charismatic Lankan's previous experience in domestic competitions here was not happy one as he continued his Dhaka jinx after his single failure back in 1997 when he failed to lift Mohammedan against an ordinary Agrani Bank side. He returned in November 2007 but scored only 14 runs, dropped a vital catch as well as giving away 37 runs in seven overs without any success for Acme in the Corporate Cricket League final.

Mohammedan roped in the Sri Lankan opener for second time as the 39-year old cricketer along with Arjuna Ranatunga had earlier played for the Motijheel outfit after Sri Lanka emerged champions in the 1996 ICC Cricket World Cup.

The left-handed batsman, who is out of the Sri Lankan Test squad since December 2007, was supposed to come here earlier, but he was engaged in South African Club cricket.