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Having already conceded the series, West Indies will play for pride and ranking points in the third and final ODI against Sri Lanka in Pallekele

The Preview by Andrew Fidel Fernando06-Nov-2015

Match facts

November 7, 2015
Start time 1430 local (0900 GMT)Tillakaratne Dilshan has whipped up 918 runs in ODIs in Pallekele to add to 13 wickets•Associated Press

Big Picture

West Indies have now spent more than a month in Sri Lanka, but are yet to have a lot to show for their time on the island. The Tests went poorly. They have surged in patches during the ODIs, yet now only have pride and a few rankings points to play for in the final match. The points, though, are worth more to them than most – captain Jason Holder has repeatedly pointed out that his team are not safe from being cut from the 10-team 2019 World Cup.Though Sunil Narine had very nearly won them the first match with one triple-wicket over, West Indies returned to a worrying pattern in the second ODI. They claimed an early wicket on Wednesday, but as had been the case during the World Cup, were toothless through the middle overs.Maybe a shift to the central plateau will do them good. The Pallekele pitch has usually assisted new-ball bowlers, and has been particularly given to zippy seam under lights. If Jerome Taylor and company can claim three wickets inside the first 15 overs, West Indies may yet succeed in putting Sri Lanka’s inexperienced lower-middle order under pressure.Sri Lanka may take the opportunity to mix up its attack a little, particularly as Lasith Malinga’s return to form now provides them a reliable failsafe. Dushmantha Chameera appears likeliest to come into the XI, but legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay may be in line for an ODI debut as well.

Form guide

Sri Lanka: WWWLL (last five matches, most recent first)


West Indies: LLLWL

In the spotlight

If it’s a Pallekele ODI, it’s usually a Tillakaratne Dilshan sort of party. He is the venue’s top-scorer by a distance, with 918 runs at an average of 83.45 at the venue, and he’s also the second-highest wicket-taker, with 13 scalps at 21.61. There are rains forecast for Saturday, but maybe match officials should ask Dilshan to try parting the clouds so the match can go ahead, such is his power in these surrounds.Darren Bravo has looked in decent touch right through the tour, but has found ways of getting himself out before he has gone on to truly substantial scores. Usually one of West Indies’ better players of spin, he has been dismissed by slow bowlers on both occasions this series. He’ll want to forge past those middling scores and collect at least one match-winning knock before leaving Sri Lanka’s shores.

Teams news

With Ajantha Mendis left out of the T20 squad, Sri Lanka may leave him out in favour of one of the younger bowlers. Sachithra Senanayake may also conceivably be rested.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Kusal Perera (wk), 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Lahiru Thirimanne, 4 Dinesh Chandimal , 5 Angelo Mathews (capt.), 6 Milinda Siriwardana, 7 Shehan Jayasuriya, 8 Sachithra Senanayake/Jeffrey Vandersay, 9, Dushmantha Chameera, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Suranga LakmalAndre Russell and Denesh Ramdin both appear to have recovered from their ailments, and Holder is also available for this match, which means West Indies are back to full strength. They may return to the combination they fielded in the first ODI.West Indies (probable): 1 Johnson Charles, 2 Andre Fletcher, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Jonathan Carter, 6 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 7 Jason Holder (capt.), 8 Andre Russell, 9 Carlos Brathwaite, 10 Sunil Narine, 11 Jerome Taylor

Pitch and conditions

Showers are expected throughout the day on Saturday, so another shortened match looms. The Pallekele surface is normally more conducive to bounce, carry and seam than the Khettarama pitch, though there is often turn at the venue as well.

Stats and trivia

• Kusal Perera has three 50-plus scores in from his last six innings. Each of those scores has earned him a man-of-the-match award.
• Lasith Malinga has the most wickets at Pallekele, with 21 scalps at an average of 23.04.
• Andre Russell needs 15 more runs to reach 1000 in ODIs

A round-up of the Ranji Trophy Group B matches on November 10, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Nov-2015
ScorecardFile photo – Axar Patel scored 81 and took seven wickets in the match•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Gujarat took seven Baroda wickets in 37.4 overs to earn a bonus point with an innings-and-46-run win on the last day in Valsad. Baroda started the day on 81 for 4 with Ambati Rayudu and Yusuf Pathan, still trailing by 172 runs, and could score only 126 more to finish the match without any points, while Gujarat got seven.Gujarat were led by offspinner Rujul Bhatt who finished with 4 for 48 after taking three wickets on the last day. While Rayudu continued to resist, the fifth-wicket stand was broken by Jasprit Bumrah who had Yusuf caught behind for 8 in the second over of the day to leave Baroda on 85 for 5. Irfan Pathan resisted for more than an hour along with Rayudu for a partnership of 41 runs but was eventually dismissed by Bhatt for 15. Rayudu also fell soon enough for 43, also to Bhatt, before Hardik Pandya counterattacked with a 51-ball 43 that featured six fours and a six.He didn’t get much support from the tail as Bhatt and Axar kept picking wickets. Pandya took the score past 200 but it wasn’t enough to make Gujarat bat again. Axar finished with 4 for 71 after taking three wickets in the first innings.
ScorecardAbhishek Nayar and Vishal Dabholkar combined to pick up five wickets on the final day and earn Mumbai a first-innings lead against Uttar Pradesh as their Group B game petered out into a dull draw in Mumbai. With only first-innings points on offer going into the fourth day, Uttar Pradesh’s overnight batsmen Eklavya Dwivedi and Piyush Chawla began well in pursuit of Mumbai’s first-innings score of 610. However, Nayar had them both caught as Uttar Pradesh slipped to 416 for 7. Dabholkar then removed the tail, picking up the last three wickets for just 15 runs as the visitors were bowled out for 440.Dwivedi, promoted to open the innings after Uttar Pradesh were asked to follow on, was dismissed for the second time in the day after Dabholkar trapped him in front in the 11th over for 6. Himanshu Asnora and Umang Sharma then struck unbeaten fifties – 68 and 62 respectively – as Mumbai held on to their top position in the Group B points table.
ScorecardRain finally relented after washing out the second, third and much of the fourth day’s play but left just enough time to entice Tamil Nadu to seek first-innings points by pursuing Andhra’s total of 203. The openers – B Aparajith and Abhinav Mukund – started patiently before Aparajith was caught in the sixth over. Dinesh Karthik provided the required impetus to the innings with a quickfire 29 off 23 before Prasanth Kumar ran out both Abhinav and Karthik.However, B Indrajith and R Sathish gave Tamil Nadu hope with a 55-run fifth-wicket stand in just 63 balls before Prasanth effected another run-out, effectively scuppering any chances of a lead. Tamil Nadu lost two more wickets and, with the score at 164 for 7, both teams shook hands.

In wake of BCCI president Shashank Manohar’s drive to eradicate conflict of interest issues, Narendra Hirwani has voluntarily stepped down as chairman of the Madhya Pradesh selection panel; his son Mihir is currently representing the state

Nagraj Gollapudi13-Nov-2015In wake of BCCI president Shashank Manohar’s drive to eradicate conflict of interest issues from the Indian board and its affiliates, former India legspinner Narendra Hirwani has voluntarily stepped down as chairman of the Madhya Pradesh selection panel, given his son Mihir is currently representing MP in the Ranji Trophy.Hirwani thus becomes the first official to admit possible conflict after Manohar had presented an exhaustive paper to the board’s working committee in October, detailing possible conflict of interest issues that administrators, players and employees at both the BCCI and its affiliates need to avoid. Following the BCCI AGM held earlier this week, Manohar said that the members had unanimously accepted all the guidelines he had listed in that paper, in principle, barring some minor modifications to the language, which the board’s legal committee would attend to within the next two months.According to Hirwani he did not want anybody to confront him and ask how he could continue to be a selector while his son was playing for Madhya Pradesh. “As soon as I heard Shashank Manohar sir speak about the conflict of interest issue related to Roger Binny, I became conscious of my position as chairman of selectors at MPCA. Before the BCCI or MPCA sent me a notice, I decided to resign,” Hirwani told ESPNcricinfo.Binny was one of the few high-profile names that the BCCI axed due to the conflict of interest issue. Manohar had said the BCCI had to drop Binny from the national selection panel because even a perception of conflict of interest would be damaging for his son Stuart’s career.Hirwani, who was an India selector too, has been the chairman of the MP selection panel for about six years. He said that admitting to a conflict was a personal decision. “There are rules and regulations that you need to adhere to. If I am honest to myself and my job, regardless of my son playing or not, then I can carry on doing my job with freedom,” Hirwani said. “But it was not good for my son me continuing in my role.”Mihir Hirwani, 21, also a legspinner, has played four first-class matches for Madhya Pradesh, all this year. He has claimed 13 wickets in those games, at 17.69.

Tom Curran starred with the ball on his England representative debut, while Sam Billings advanced his burgeoning reputation with a superbly paced half-century from the depths of a top-order collapse, as England Lions squared their five-match T20 series wi

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Dec-2015
ScorecardTom Curran returned figures of 2 for 15 on his England Lions debut•Chris Whiteoak

Tom Curran starred with the ball on his England representative debut, while Sam Billings advanced his burgeoning reputation with a superbly paced half-century from the depths of a top-order collapse, as England Lions squared their five-match T20 series with Pakistan A at 2-2 with an impressive five-wicket victory at Dubai.Curran, the Zimbabwe-born Surrey seamer who qualified for England during the summer, confirmed his class after a breakthrough season in county cricket, claiming 2 for 15 in four high-quality overs to head limit Pakistan A to 116 for 9 in their 20 overs, a total that England overhauled with five wickets and 11 balls to spare.However, England were indebted to Billings for a cool-headed performance in adversity. His unbeaten 61 from 48 balls, with four fours and two sixes, formed the backbone of a run-chase that, at 9 for 3 in the fourth over, had threatened to be very dicey indeed.Instead, Billings found an obdurate ally in Liam Dawson, who made 37 from 35 balls in a fourth-wicket stand of 94, and though Pakistan struck back with two late wickets, including a third for Junaid Khan, who completed the superb figures of 3 for 9 in four overs, Billings slapped the winning boundary back over the head of Zia-ul-Haq to square the rubber and take the series to a decider on Wednesday.The victory, however, was built on another fine all-round display from England’s attack, who had come close to defending a sub-par total in Friday’s third match and this time capitalised on captain James Vinces’ decision to bowl first.Steven Finn continued his impressive return from injury, opening his day’s work with a maiden before bowling the dangerous Sharjeel Khan, whose 70 from 50 balls had been the difference between the teams in their last outing, off an inside edge in his second over.Sohaib Maqsood and Iftikhar Ahmed combined in a dangerous second-wicket stand of 61 in 7.1 overs, with Finn’s third over going for 17 runs including a sweet pull through midwicket for six by Maqsood.However, the introduction of the spinners, Liam Dawson and Dawid Malan, slowed their progress, and it was Malan’s legbreaks that broke the partnership, as Iftikhar top-edged an attempted slap over the leg-side, and holed out to Jamie Overton at long-on for 26.One over later, and Curran was in on the act, courtesy of his Surrey team-mate, Ben Foakes, who sprinted in from deep midwicket to cling onto a fine catch off the new batsman, Babar Azam.Maqsood then followed suit, again impressively snaffled on the leg side as Tom Westley dived to give Malan his second victim, and Pakistan lost their fourth wicket for 12 runs in the space of 20 balls when Saad Nasim mowed across the line at Dawson to be caught by Overton, again at midwicket.With their frontline batsmen out of the picture, Pakistan’s tail had little answer to the death-bowling skills of Curran and Reece Topley, who conceded nine runs between them in the final four overs of the innings. Pakistan’s confusion was summed up by their captain, Junaid Khan, who conceded four dots in Curran’s final over, then was run out by a Billings direct hit off the fifth.Junaid swiftly atoned for that indignity, however, bagging Vince for a fourth-ball duck before removing Tom Westley, also without scoring, in his second over. Five balls later Zia had Malan, the pick of England’s batsmen to date, caught behind for 6 to leave the chase in disarray. But Billings and Dawson were not to be denied.

Alastair Cook, England’s victorious captain, said that his players could take pride in a complete team performance after a stunning second-innings bowling display

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jan-2016
Alastair Cook, England’s victorious captain, said that his players could take pride in a complete team performance after a stunning second-innings bowling display, led once again by Stuart Broad, delivered a remarkable seven-wicket win at Johannesburg, and a first overseas series victory since the tour of India in 2012-13.Cook top-scored with 43 in the run-chase, as England hunted down a target of 74 in 22.3 overs to secure an unassailable 2-0 lead with only next week’s fourth Test at Centurion to come. Afterwards, he paid tribute to Broad’s skill and stamina, after an incredible afternoon spell of 5 for 1 in ten overs had sent South Africa tumbling to 83 all out.However, Cook admitted that Broad’s off-colour performance on the first day of the contest – when he, along with many of his team-mates had been feeling the effects of a stomach bug – may have been a factor in his determination second-time around.”At the beginning of the day, we were talking positively about how we were going to win the game, and Stuart was really on it,” Cook told Sky Sports. “I don’t know if he was disappointed at not feeling well on the first day, rushing off to the toilet, but I think he thought the other bowlers carried him even though he bowled 17 overs [in the innings].”He just thought ‘this is my time’ and jeez, he bowled well,” Cook added. “We knew that, on this pitch, if you could hammer it down on the top off stump at good pace with the brand new ball, and make them play, it would be really hard.”Broad, who has now claimed five wickets in a single Test spell on a remarkable seven separate occasions in his career, said that the Wanderers surface was the sort he would like to pick up and take with him everywhere he played, as he finished the match on 330 wickets, five ahead of Bob Willis in third place on England’s all-time bowling list.”The air’s a bit thinner here so a ten-over spell is probably a bit much,” he said. “But I got in a rhythm from the far end and it was a good day to bowl, the wicket offered a little off the seam and in the air, and for a 6 foot 6 bowler there was a bit of bounce there as well. I wish I got to take that wicket around with us most places, that’s for sure.”I was a little bit under the weather [on the first day],” he admitted. “I think most of our fans and players, everyone we know has been ill in the last few weeks. But fortunately the doctors got me over it pretty quickly, and the guys bowled well on that first day to cover my absence really.”As so often in the best of Broad’s spells, the secret to success was pitching the ball up, as he himself admitted he had failed to do during South Africa’s first-innings 313.”I fell into the trap of probably bowling a bit too short and getting carried away with the bounce,” he said. “So we had a chat with the coach and the bowling group before we went out in the second innings, we talked about bringing the batsman forward a lot more, using the bouncer of course, but from a fuller length.”We got lucky today,” he added. “We got some clouds, the lights were on, it was perfect conditions to bowl, but we got the ball in the good areas from both ends to create that pressure and we took our catches, especially Titchy Taylor’s great catches at short leg. We took our opportunities and it’s been a fantastic day for us.”Despite Broad’s heroics, Cook was keen to spread the credit throughout his squad, on a day which began with England 75 runs adrift of South Africa’s first-innings score, but finished with him becoming the first England captain in history to achieve series wins in both India and South Africa.”It has not sunk in at all,” said Cook. “I think tomorrow morning with a dusty head it will start to.”One of the dustiest heads of all is likely to belong to Ben Stokes, who followed up a vital counterattacking fifty in the first innings with a key afternoon spell in support of Broad’s onslaught, and Cook singled his up-and-coming allrounder out for special praise.”I can’t take any credit for man-managing Ben Stokes,” he joked. “He’s off the leash tonight, but he’s an absolute gem in the side. The ability to score 250 one day then bowl almost 90mph, swinging both ways, when it’s time to balance the attack, a lot of people would want that in your side. When he got injured in Abu Dhabi, to come back here and do what he’s done, it’s amazing.”At the start of today, day three, we knew it would be a moving day in one sense,” he added. “But the challenge was to get up close to them and try to put pressure on them in the third innings. Trev [Trevor Bayliss, the coach] gave us a rocket at lunch, saying if you want to win the series, go now and go hard.”I’m really proud of the lads but also pleased for them,” Cook said. “Pakistan [in the UAE before Christmas] didn’t quite go our way and I felt we deserved more out of it. But we’ve got our rewards for sticking together and playing good cricket. You can get carried away with stats and averages, but everyone can be proud of what they’ve done.”

Trent Copeland’s 5 for 62 helped bowl South Australia out for 177 after New South Wales had conceded an 87-run lead in the first innings. Ben Rohrer followed that up with an unbeaten 62 to build New South Wales’ chase of 265

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Feb-2016
ScorecardTrent Copeland’s five-for helped set his side a target of 265•Getty Images

Right-arm pacer Trent Copeland’s 5 for 62 helped bowl South Australia out for 177 after New South Wales had conceded an 87-run lead in the first innings. Ben Rohrer followed that up with an unbeaten 62 to guide NSW’s chase of 265, though five wickets lost meant an interesting final day should unfurl in Coffs Harbour: NSW need another 87, with half their side gone.South Australia suffered a batting collapse on day three, losing nine wickets for 105. Copeland triggered the collapse by dismissing overnight batsmen Mark Cosgrove and Sam Raphael in quick succession, soon after they had started the day at 1 for 64. Sean Abbott and Doug Bolinger chipped in with three and two wickets, respectively, as South Australia were bowled out for 177. Travis Head was South Australia’s top scorer with 44.New South Wales were hurt early in their chase of 265, losing 2 wickets for 17 runs by the tenth over. Ed Cowan provided some stability with a patient 31 after which Rohrer dropped anchor with an his unbeaten fifty. South Australia continued to fight with timely strikes that had New South Wales a wobbly 5 for 178 and the game in the balance by the end of day three.

Mahmudullah, the Bangladesh allrounder, was the first pick in the player by choice draft for the Dhaka Premier League, which begins on April 22

Mohammad Isam10-Apr-2016Mahmudullah, the Bangladesh allrounder, was the first pick in the player by choice draft for the Dhaka Premier League. He was acquired by Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club, who had won the lottery to determine which Dhaka club would get the first pick of the top 13 cricketers in the country. The tournament is due to begin on April 22.Defending champions Prime Bank Cricket Club chose batsman Sabbir Rahman, while Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club took allrounder Nasir Hossain. Abahani, the 17-time champions, went for Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan, who will join the team after his IPL stint with Kolkata Knight Riders.Mustafizur Rahman was the last player picked in the draft, perhaps because he won’t be available to play until July-August. The left-arm seamer will first finish his IPL with Sunrisers Hyderabad and then travel to the UK for the NatWest T20 Blast before joining Mohammaden Sporting Club.Bangladesh Test captain Mushfiqur Rahim also went to Mohammaden, Mominul Haque to Victoria Sporting Club, Soumya Sarkar and Mohammad Mithun to Legends of Rupganj, Anamul Haque to Gazi Group, Mashrafe Mortaza to Kalabagan Krira Chakra and Imrul Kayes to Brothers Union.Only Kalabagan Cricket Academy and Cricket Coaching School passed the chance to pick players from the top two categories.Players in the Icon category will get Tk 30 lakh, while those in the A+ category will be paid Tk 25 lakh for the entire season. Earlier, each club picked a minimum of 10 cricketers from seven categories over 13 rounds. Each club can also register as many overseas players as they want, but can only field one per game.

A slow surface that makes strokeplay difficult and large outfields in Nagpur can be turned into Afghanistan’s favour

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Nagpur26-Mar-2016They worried Sri Lanka with a rousing batting recovery, startled South Africa with a barnstorming start in a big chase, and left England gasping with their spin bowling. Three Super 10 matches against three Full Members, and Afghanistan created chances of winning each of them. They eventually fell short all three times, but the displays have only strengthened their belief that beating top opposition is not a distant prospect.On Sunday, Afghanistan will end their World T20 with a meeting against West Indies, who top their group with three wins in three matches. Afghanistan will be up against, perhaps, the most power-packed batting line-up they have faced in the tournament.But in Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Samiullah Shenwari and Hamza Hotak, Afghanistan have enough depth in the spin department to make life difficult for batsmen reliant on big shots on a slow pitch and one of the bigger outfields in Indian cricket. Afghanistan have played three matches at the VCA Stadium before, in the first round, and though they faced far weaker opposition at that stage of the tournament, they know the conditions.”Definitely, their batting is very [strong], but we have a very good spin department,” Asghar Stanikzai, Afghanistan’s captain, said on the eve of the match. “So where we can restrict them is, we will try to depend more on spinners, since the boundaries over here are longer and hitting the spinners will not be that easy. They are good strikers of the ball but we play good cricket, and are not just trying to give them a tough time but we are here to go back with at least one win [from the Super 10 stage].”Afghanistan have made massive strides since their first appearance at a world event in 2010, and Stanikzai said they were no longer content simply with pushing big teams hard. He was particularly disappointed that they had let strong positions slip against Sri Lanka and England, and said Afghanistan were close to being a “serious team” that would win matches regularly.”When we first appeared in that [2010 World T20] in West Indies, we were only thinking that we are playing with big names and most of us were very impressed with the players around,” Stanikzai said. “This time we are not only participating in this tournament but we were serious about it.”If you see our last three matches, especially against Sri Lanka and England, we have played very good cricket. To be honest, we could have won those games because we knew the strength of our team, but somehow we made mistakes and that’s why we couldn’t finish on a winning note. If you compare between 2010 and 2016, there is a lot of difference in the Afghanistan team, and in the next one or two years we will be a serious team and beat these Full Members very easily, as we have potential.”West Indies are already through to the semi-finals, but their coach Phil Simmons knows they cannot take Afghanistan lightly.”They’ve played well in all the games,” he said. “They’ve batted really well, [especially when] they were chasing a big score against South Africa, who we played yesterday. So they’ve been playing well and I know them from before [Simmons was Ireland’s coach from 2007 to 2015], so I know that they’re going to come to try and win. So we’ve got to just play properly.”While Afghanistan are clearly a team on an upward curve, there are fears that West Indies are heading in the opposite direction. They have failed to qualify for the ODI Champions Trophy in 2017, and have struggled in Test cricket for a number of years. They have been among the best T20 sides in the world, as their displays in this tournament have suggested, but some of their biggest stars in the format, including Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Darren Sammy, are in their 30s and could possibly be playing at their last ICC event.Simmons disagreed with the pessimistic view of the future, pointing to the fact that Bravo and Sammy are only in their early 30s, the fact that the current squad has performed so well while missing Kieron Pollard, Lendl Simmons and Sunil Narine, and the fact that West Indies have just won the Under-19 World Cup.”I’m not too sure how you write off guys at 30, 32 and 33,” Simmons said. “But to answer your question, yes, you can see it in the amount of players we have missing here. You see it in the young players coming up. You saw it in the Under-19 squad and you see it in the CPL at home, so it’s going to keep coming for a long time to come.”

A round-up of all the DPL matches played on April 26, 2016

Mohammad Isam26-Apr-2016Muktar Ali’s stunning last-ball six over long-on sealed Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club‘s four-wicket win over Abahani Limited in Mirpur. This was after Mahbubul Karim’s 130, which earned him the Man-of-the-Match award, had set up their 288-run chase.Defending seven runs from the final over, Taskin Ahmed ran out Angelo Perera off the first ball before getting Nazmus Sadat with a yorker off the next ball. Taskin gave away two singles in the next three balls, which included a full toss that appeared to be quite high but wasn’t called a no-ball. With five to defend off the final ball, Taskin missed his spot and Muktar strode forward and smashed him high over long-on.Mahbubul, who struck 15 fours and five sixes in his 110-ball knock, shared a 67-run opening stand with Joyraz Sheik before adding 125 runs with Marshall Ayub, who chipped in with 47. For Abahani Limited, Saqlain Sajib and Nazmul Hossain Shanto took two wicketsEarlier, Tamim Iqbal’s 90 and half-centuries from Uday Kaul and Shanto took Abahani to 287 for 4. Tamim struck 11 fours in his 91-ball knock that ended when he holed-out to Mahmudullah. Mosaddek Hossain struck an unbeaten 29-ball 46 that had three fours and two sixes, one of which was a reverse hit over third-man.Defending champions Prime Bank Cricket Club nearly lost to another newly promoted side but prevailed through a fine last over by Rubel Hossain, as they beat Cricket Coaching School by five runs in BKSP, Savar.CCS had one of their two centurions, Salman Hossain, at the crease when they needed 15 off the last over. He struck Rubel for a six off the first ball but was caught behind off the fourth, ending CCS’ hopes. His 110 came off 137 balls with the help of eight fours and three sixes, after Saif Hassan had struck 100 off 129 balls with seven fours and three sixes.Salman and Saif added 195 runs for the third wicket, keeping Prime Bank out of the contest for a long time. When Saif got out in the 45th over, 50 was needed off 35 balls. Rubel ended with three wickets while Shuvagata Hom and left-arm spinner Monir Hossain took two each.Prime Bank had slipped to 95 for 5 in the 22nd over before Taibur Rahman and Yasir Ali added 106 runs for the sixth wicket. Both batsmen struck fifties. Left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed took three wickets.There was more drama at the Fatullah where Kalabagan Krira Chakra had three of their batsmen run-out off the last three balls of their chase against Prime Dholeshwar Sporting Club, who won by four runs.In another close finish, Kalabagan needed nine runs off the last over. Mehrab Hossain jnr managed just one run off the first three balls bowled by Al-Amin Hossain before he was run out. He was followed by Sharifullah and Mashrafe Mortaza off the last two balls.Chasing 288, Kalabagan were given a good start by their openers who added 57 runs but they slowly slipped out of the contest, arriving at 154 for 5 in the 33rd over. Mehrab, who made 86, added 104 runs for the sixth wicket with Tanveer Haider who blasted three fours and two sixes in his 32-ball 44. Mehrab struck a six and nine fours in his 87-ball knock. Offspinner Rahatul Ferdous took three wickets.Earlier, Nasir Hossain made a 75-ball 97 with eleven fours and six while Imtiaz Hossain cracked an 81-ball 73 with a six and eight fours, as Prime Doleshwar reached 287 for 8 in 50 overs. Mashrafe took three wickets while Abdur Razzak and Dewan Sabbir picked up two each.

A round-up of the Dhaka Premier League matches played on June 4, 2016

Mohammad Isam04-Jun-2016A superb unbeaten 126 by Tasamul Haque lifted Kalabagan Krira Chakra out of the relegation zone and into contention for the Super League, guiding the team to a six-wicket win over Mohammedan Sporting Club.Kalabagan climbed to eighth place with ten points, level with three other teams, while Mohammedan went down one place to third after their fourth defeat in the competition.In a high-scoring encounter at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium, Kalabagan lost Jashimuddin off the the second ball of their innings while chasing 291. But Tasamul and opener Hasanuzzaman added 140 for the second wicket in under 18 overs to bring them back into the contest. Hasanuzzaman blazed to 95 off 53 balls with eight sixes and four fours.Paras Dogra, their new Indian recruit, and Mehrab Hossain jnr fell cheaply but Tasamul and Tanveer Haider sped from the 24th over, adding an unbroken 129 for the fourth wicket. Tanveer finished not out on 52 while Tasamul, who struck eight fours and two sixes, ended on 126 off 129 balls. Tasamul struck his second six to take Kalabagan home, the win coming with 6.5 overs to spare.Mohammedan virtually had no reply with the ball, with most of their in-form bowlers like Subashis Roy, Naeem Islam jnr and Habibur Rahman going for plenty.They had a better time with the bat. Bipul Sharma, who played for the IPL-winning Sunrisers Hyderabad side, struck his maiden List A hundred as Mohammedan piled up 290 for 6 in 50 overs. Dewan Sabbir bowled Bipul after he had made exactly 100, with six boundaries and eight sixes.He came to the crease with Mohammedan in trouble at 69 for 3, and went on to add 171 for the fourth wicket with captain Mushfiqur Rahim, who chipped in with a 71-ball 75.Victoria Sporting Club crushed Brothers Union by 112 runs in Mirpur, after Abdul Mazid’s first century of the competition lifted them to a formidable 302 for 9. Mazid dominated the 170-run opening stand with Fazle Mahmud, which lasted 33.3 overs. Mazid cracked eleven boundaries and four sixes in his 118 off 117 balls, his highest List-A score.Though they lost Mazid and Mominul Haque in the space of three balls, and Mahmud – for 71 – in the 39th over, Victoria didn’t lose much momentum, taking 84 runs off the last ten overs with Al-Amin, Chaturanga de Silva and Dhiman Ghosh making rapid contributions. Left-arm spinners Nabil Samad and Asif Hasan took four and two wickets respectively, while offspinner Iftekhar Sajjad bagged two.Brothers Union collapsed in their chase, with only their captain Tushar Imran standing firm, scoring his fifth half-century of the season. The other five members of their top six, however, fell single-figure scores as Brothers Union slipped to 92 for 8 in the 27th over.Tushar and Asif then added 97 for the ninth wicket, but it only delayed the inevitable. Brothers Union were eventually bowled out for 190 in 45.3 overs. Tushar made 93 off 126 balls with eleven fours. Pace bowler Mahbubul Alam took three wickets while there were two each for offspinner Al-Amin and paceman Kamrul Islam Rabbi.Legends of Rupganj trounced Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club by seven wickets at the BKSP-3 ground. It was a fine effort for a side that was without their captain Mosharraf Hossain and their in-form wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Mithun, both serving one-match bans.Nahidul Islam made 92 and Junaid Siddique was unbeaten on 53 as Rupganj completed a chase of 185 with 17.1 overs to spare. Nahidul, who earlier took 2 for 38 with his offspin, struck nine fours and three sixes during his 99-ball innings. He came to the crease after Jahurul Islam was given leg-before off the first ball of the innings.He added 46 for the second wicket with Soumya Sarkar, who was also out leg-before, and another 125 for the third wicket with Junaid. Nahidul’s end also came through a leg-before decision, though by then the win was only 13 runs away.Sent in to bat, Dhanmondi lost wickets regularly. Left-arm spinners Murad Khan and Taijul Islam took three wickets each after seamer Alauddin Babu struck twice in the fourth over to remove the big-hitting Mahbubul Karim and the steady Marshall Ayub. Abdullah Al Mamun (24), Mahmudullah (35) and Nazmus Sadat (41) steadied Dhanmondi’s innings, but they collapsed thereafter, losing their last six wickets for just 28 runs to slump from 156 for four in the 36th over to 184 all out in 45.