Opener Soumya Sarker hit some sort of form with an unbeaten half-century for Agrani Bank, who thumped defending champions Gazi Group by eight wickets in one of the three opening day fixtures of the Dhaka Premier League yesterday.
The left-hander, who was recently dropped from the national team for his inconsistent performance, scored a watchful 89 off 120 balls as the Bankers, chasing a modest total of 176, raced to 178 for two in 39.3 overs at the BKSP in Savar.
It was Soumya's first knock of substance after his poor run of form in the Bangladesh Cricket League, the first-class competition where he failed to score even a fifty in four innings.
The talented left-hander struck seven boundaries and four sixes in his enterprising knock and shared 140 runs for the unbroken third wicket with Rifat Ullah, who scored an unbeaten 55.
Soumya also played his part with his gentle medium pace earlier in the day, taking two wickets for 27 runs as Gazi Group, one of the worst-affected teams courtesy of a player-by-choice transfer system, failed to put up a decent total despite getting off to a good start.
Mahedi Hasan (41) and Shofiul Hayat Hridoy (33) put on 46 runs for the first wicket in 9.4 overs. But the innings fell apart after the departure of Hridoy. Pacer Al-Amin Hossain and veteran left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak took two wickets each while Shahbaz Chohan mopped up the tail to finish with three for 31.
The opening day of the country's List A competition also witnessed the chasing teams posting easy wins in the two other matches.
At the Khan Saheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah, promotees Shinepukur Cricket Club recorded a five-wicket win against Prime Doleshwar thanks to a fine half-century from Afif Hossain, the most impressive emerging cricketer of the country.
The left-hander, who hit four half-centuries in six games in the just concluded Under-19 World Cup, hit a 46-ball 56 as Shinepukur, who had earlier restricted Doleshwar to 188 for seven in the stipulated 50 overs, ambled their way to 189 for five in 33.3 overs.
Afif, who is also a very good right-arm spinner, shared 113 runs for the fourth wicket with Shuvagata Hom. Hom scored an unbeaten 58.
In another ground at the BKSP in Savar, title contenders Abahani blew away Khelaghar by nine wickets. The highlight of the game was Bangladesh ODI captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza's three-wicket burst that helped dismiss Khelaghar for 154 in 41 overs.
Experienced opener Anamul Haque then hit a fluent unbeaten 86 as Abahani rattled to 155 for one in only 25.1 overs. Anamul struck six sixes and as many boundaries in his 73-ball knock. Bangladesh youth team captain Saif Hasan scored 39 and left-handed batsman Nazmul Hossain scored an unbeaten 23.
