Abahani Limited won the title of the Bangabandhu Dhaka Premier Divison Twenty20 Cricket League beating Prime Bank Cricket Club by eight runs on Saturday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.

It was Abahani’s record 21st title of Dhaka’s top-flight cricket event, and three in a row. 

Ahead of this game, both Abahani and Prime Bank had equal points, and thus, their last match on the Super League stage became a final.

Abahani won the toss and opted to bat first. They posted a challenging total of 150 runs for seven in 20 overs. In later, wrapped up Prime Bank for 142 for nine in 20 overs, and won the game by eight runs. 

Mohammad Saifuddin, the right-handed pacer and left-handed batsman, starred in this match scoring 21 off 13 balls and taking four wickets conceding 36 runs in four overs. 

Also read: Abahani seal top spot beating Prime Doleshwar

Prime Bank’s Alok Kapali remained unbeaten for 34 off 17 deliveries, but his effort went in vain as Shahidul Islam defended 16 runs off the last over. 

Prime Bank needed 55 runs in the last 30 balls to lift the title against, but they only could manage 46 runs. 

In the last two overs, Prime Bank needed 32 runs. Alok hit Saifuddin for a six and four to score 16 runs, and they needed 16 off the last over. 

The first ball was as high as his shoulder, but the leg-umpire refused to call it a no-ball. Alok looked unhappy, and off the last five balls, he only managed seven runs. 

Rubel Mia was the highest runs getter for Prime Bank scoring 41, but he faced as many as 43 balls. His slow batting eventually led Prime Bank to the dire need to score quickly at the late of the order. 

Saifuddin was tremendous with the ball. Despite conceding nine runs per over, he picked up wickets in crucial times. Mehedi Hasan Rana also did well with the ball taking two wickets.

Also read: Abahani, Prime Bank, Prime Doleshwar in Pole Position to Win DPL T20 2021

Earlier, Abahani lost their first wickets before adding any run on the board. Inside the first two overs, they lost both their openers— Mohammad Naim and Munim Shahriar— for 0 and 3 respectively. 

Liton Das, one of the mainstays of Abahani, in the absence of Mushfiqur Rahim, also failed to do well as he fell for 19.

But in the fourth-wicket stand, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mosaddek Hossain added 70 runs. Shanto scored 45 off 40 while Mosaddek added 40 off 39 balls. 

Coming into bat at seven, Saifuddin posted 21 off 13 balls with two sixes. He helped Abahani touched the 150-run mark. 

For this all-round performance, Saifuddin won the player of the match award. 

Saifuddin ended up Dhaka League scalping 26 wickets in 16 matches with the best of taking four wickets conceding 18 runs. He also did well with the bat scoring 94 runs at the strike rate of 138.26. He batted at the late order in most of the matches.