Abahani’s third on the trot

Abahani secured a hattrick of Dhaka Premier League title by beating Prime Bank Cricket Club by eight runs in the final Super League game at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.

All-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin proved instrumental with bat and ball as Abahani posted 150 for seven before restricting Prime Bank to 142 for 9 in 20 overs.

"We were unable to pick up early wickets during the powerplays in the previous game against Sheikh Jamal. But today (Saturday) we managed to pick early wickets that helped us defend the total. It always feels good to be a part of the champion team and I am happy to contribute both with bat and ball in the title-deciding encounter, which is more satisfying from a player's point of view," man of the match Saifuddin told the media after the match.

Prime Bank were in all sorts of trouble after coming in to chase and lost wickets at regular intervals.

Opener Rubel Mia kept hopes alive from one end and top-scored with 41 off 43 balls but the likes of Rony Talukdar (1), skipper Anamul Haque (13), Raqibul Hasan (4) and Mohammad Mithun (6) failed to fire in the all-important game.

Experienced Alok Kapali had a 17-ball cameo that yielded 34 runs but it was not enough for Prime Bank to clinch a maiden title.

Saifuddin was the pick of the bowlers for Abahani as the right-arm seamer bagged four wickets from four overs for the concession of 36 runs. Mehedi Hasan Rana took two wickets.

Earlier, Abahani were also struggling after electing to bat and were reeling on 31 for three, losing top three batsmen Mohammad Naim (0), Munim Shahriar (3) and Liton Das (19).

But Najmul Hossain and skipper Mosaddek Hossain rescued Abahani and added 70 for the fourth wicket to give them a platform for the Sky Blues to post a challenging total.

Najmul was the first to depart after scoring 45 off 40 while Mosaddek followed soon on 40 as Prime Bank managed to bounce back well in the latter stage of the innings.

Saifuddin then smashed two sixes off the last over of the innings from Mustafizur Rahman and was unbeaten on 21 off 13 balls.

Rubel Hossain picked up two wickets while Mustafizur, Nahidul Islam, Shoriful Islam and Rubel Mia took a wicket each for Prime Bank.

Earlier in the day's first match, pacers Ruyel Miah and Yeasin Arafat shone with the ball as Mohammedan ended their campaign with a convincing 25-run win over Prime Doleshwar in their final Super League encounter in Mirpur.

Following five consecutive defeats, this was Mohammedan's first win in the Super League stage. Mohammedan however ended at the bottom of the Super League table with 15 points from 16 games while Doleshwar stayed third with 21 points from nine wins in 16 outings.