Seniors shine on rain-marred day

On a rain-marred opening day yesterday, it was Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan -- three common heroes of Bangladesh national side -- who took charge for their respective teams in the Bangabandhu Dhaka Premier Division T20 League, an alternate to the suspended edition of the prestigious 50-over competition.

In a rain-curtailed game at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, an unbeaten 26-ball 38 from skipper Mushfiqur helped Abahani romp to a seven-wicket victory against Partex Sporting Club. Despite skipper Tasamul Haque's unbeaten 65,  Partex could only manage 120 for five as Abahani bowlers Mohammad Saifuddin, Taijul Islam and Arafat Sunny kept the scoring rate in check.

However, rain brought the target down to 70 from 10 overs and Mushfiqur's unbeaten knock steered the Sky Blues to victory with four balls to spare.

At BKSP-3, Bangladesh's ODI skipper Tamim smashed a 22-ball 46 to help his side, Prime Bank Cricket Club, seal a seven-wicket win against Gazi Group. In a game that was reduced to 12-overs-a-side, Tamim, who is often criticised for his slow approach, smashed five sixes and two fours to help his side chase down 92 runs with 16 balls to spare.

Meanwhile at BKSP-4, Shakib Al Hasan produced an all-round performance to guide Mohammedan Sporting Club to a three-wicket victory against Shinepukur Cricket Club.

Shakib, who has been struggling for form lately, bagged two wickets for 29 runs in four overs to help restrict Shinepukur to 125 for six. Parvez Hossain Emon's blazing 39 at the top and Shakib's handy 22-ball 29 in the middle had Mohammedan on course for a comfortable victory.

However, loss of four wickets in space of 11 deliveries at the latter stage of the innings cast some doubt over Mohammedan's run chase but Abu Hider Rony's smashing six off Mrittunjoy Chowdhury in the penultimate delivery sealed the fate of an enthralling contest.

Meanwhile, in the afternoon game in Mirpur, Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club defeated Khelaghar Samaj Kalyan Samity by 22 runs while the other two matches of the day -- between Old DOHS Sports Club and Legends of Rupganj at BKSP 3 and the one between Brothers Union and Prime Doleshwar at BKSP 4 -- were abandoned after just one innings due to rain.

This edition of DPL remains unique due to a change in format and due to the fact that all the premier stars of the national side are participating in a domestic competition for the first time in many years. And that also makes this T20 league a remarkable opportunity for youngsters and the ones who have been struggling to cement their place in the national side despite playing international cricket for five to six years to emerge out of the shadows of the seniors.

But as far as the opening day results are concerned, that was not the case. Najmul Hossain Shanto, who has been fighting for his reinstatement in the Tigers' shorter-format squads, made just two for Abahani while another national team struggler, Soumya Sarkar, failed to make an impact for Gazi Group.

Even though there is still a long way to go before the tournament ends, it may be time for youngsters and national team strugglers to start stepping up.