The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

High-flying Abahani Limited will battle for the Dhaka Metropolis Premier Division Twenty20 Cricket League crown with City Club, a surprise finalist, but the date of the final match is yet to be finalized.

Abahani Limited smartly reached the final of the League with all-win record eliminating Surjotarun Club by seven wickets in the first semi-final at the Narayanganj Osmani Stadium in Fatullah on Thursday morning.

Sent in to bat first, Surjotarun Club scored 106 runs for 7 wickets in stipulated 20 overs with opener Shakil Haider making 48 off 52 balls that included four fours.

Two down Nayeem Islam scored 33-ball 26 runs while one down Shamsur Rahman made 15 off 16 balls with one boundary.

Pacer Talha Jubaer grabbed three wickets for 21 runs in four overs while Rezaul Karim took two for 25 runs in four overs.

In reply, popular sky-blue Dhanmondi outfit Abahani, riding on half century by Mahbubul Karim, easily reached their target of 107 runs for the loss of three wickets in 17.4 overs.

After the dismissal of opener Jahirul Islam (15) for 22 runs in 4.3 overs, another opener Mahbubul Karim pairing with one down Nazimuddin carried the team total to 103, just four runs away from victory, contributing 81 runs in the 2nd wicket stand.

Mahbubul Karim hammered match highest 65 runs off 52 balls with three fours and three sixes to be adjudged man of the match, while Nazimuddin contributed 21 runs off 35 balls with a boundary.

Monwar Hossain, Delwar Hossain and Mohammad Sharif took one wicket each for 12, 18 and 19 runs respectively.

In the day's other semis, City Club upset all-win Victoria SC with a narrow five runs at the same venue in the afternoon.

Sent in to bat first, City Club posted moderate 96 for 8 in quota 20 overs.

Middle order Arafat Salauddin scored a run-a-ball 38 with three boundaries. Later, he was adjudged man of the match.

Skipper cum opening batsman Imran Ahmed contributed useful 26 runs off 40 balls with three fours.

National spinner Enamul Haque Jr claimed three wickets for 16 runs in four overs while pacer Mohammad Shahzada took two wickets for 9 runs in four overs.

In reply, Victoria SC, which reached the semi-final as Group B champions with all-win run, played out their 20 overs scoring 91 runs for 6 wickets, handing a five-run victory to City Club.

Victoria SC lost four top order batsmen -- Gazi Salauddin (7), Nasiruddin (8), Farhad Hossain (9) and skipper Ehsanul Haque Sezan (0)-- for only 32 runs in 9.2 overs. Although Mahmudullah Riyad pairing with Dhiman Ghosh put up 44 runs in the 5th wicket stand, but failed to avert the defeat.

Wicket-keeper Dhiman Ghosh scored 28 runs off 32 balls with a boundary while national cricketer Mahmudullah Riyad made 23 off 30 balls with one four.

Arafat Salauddin of City Club, who scored match highest 38 runs and also grabbed two wickets for 19 runs, was adjudged man of the match.

Apart from Arafat Salauddin's two-wicket haul, Shafaq Al Jabir also captured two wickets for 10 runs in four overs.