A 27-member Dhaka Abahani Limited reached Kolkata on Monday (Aug 21) without three key players to play Mohun Bagan Super Giant of Kolkata in a play-off match of the AFC Cup Football 2023-24. The six times Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) champions and curren runners-up Dhaka Abahani Limited will face Kolkata giant Mohun Bagan Super Giant on Tuesday (Aug 22) at 7:30 pm Bangladesh time at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata. Also read : AFC Cup Football : Dhaka Abahani to fly for Kolkata Monday to play Mohun Bagan SG in play-off match The winners of the match will qualify for the final round (Group Stage) of the 19th edition of the Asia's secondary club football tournament,  will begin on September 18. Dhaka Abahani, which reached Kolkata in two batches --- first batch in the morning and the 2nd batch at 12 noon, dropped their three key players -custodian Pritom, Alomgir Molla and Emon Babu for fever and injuries. Also read : Prospects of Bangladesh in 2023 Asia Cup ODI Tournament Earlier, Dhaka Abahani Limited has a plan to fly for Kolkata Sunday evening, but they are compelled to change schedule as they got Indian visa in late  (Sunday afternoon). Abahani  scheduled to make their first and only practice session at the match venue in Kolkata today (Monday) evening. Earlier in the preliminary round,  Dhaka Abahani advanced to the play-off stage of the AFC Cup Football eliminating Club Eagles of the Maldives by 2-1 goals at the Sylhet District Stadium Wednesday afternoon. Also read : Messi leads Inter Miami to first ever trophy in Leagues Cup final On the other hand,  Kolkata Mohun Club eliminated Machhindra FC of Kathmandu beating them by 3-1 goals at the Kolkata Salt Lake Stadium, also in the Wednesday evening. Dhaka Abahani and Kolkata Mohun Bagan Club faced each other on three occasions where Mohun Bagan Club enjoying upper hand beating Dhaka Abahani twice, both by 3-1 goals, while the remaining match ended in 1-1 draw. Ahead of the match, it was learnt  that, the Mohan Bagan Club are in tense situation following inclusion of three foreign booters --Nigerian forward Ifegwu Ojukwu of Nigeria, St Vincent winger Cornelius Stewart and Brazilian defender Danilu-- in the Abahani line-up.  Mohun Bagan officials assumed that the Abahani did not followed the proper process and guidelines to recruit the above three foreign players in their squad.

Abahani Limited defeated Shinepukur Cricket Club by 20 runs on Sunday in the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League (DPDCL). The other two matches of the day were abandoned because of inclement weather. In a rain-affected match at Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, Abahani Ltd. overcame Shinepukur Cricket Club by 10 runs. After winning the toss and choosing to field first, Abahani Ltd. restricted Shinepukur Cricket Club to 196/8 in 33 overs. Tanvir Islam was the standout bowler, claiming three wickets for 27 runs. In response, Abahani Ltd. reached the target of 104 runs in 21 overs, losing just one wicket. Anamul Haque Bijoy remained unbeaten on 54, while Naim Sheikh contributed 43 runs. The match was shortened to 21 overs due to rain, and Abahani Ltd. emerged victorious via the DLS method. The clash between Rupganj Tigers Cricket Club and Mohammedan Sporting Club was abandoned because of poor weather conditions. Rupganj Tigers Cricket Club posted 222/5 in 21 overs against Mohammedan Sporting Club at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. Mominul Haque scored 74 runs, while Syed Khaled Ahmed took two wickets. The match was called off at this juncture. Another match of the day was also abandoned due to unfavorable weather at BKSP. Gazi Group Cricketers faced Dhaka Leopards at the BKSP-3 Ground in Savar. After winning the toss, Dhaka Leopards opted to field first. Gazi Group Cricketers managed to score 97/3 in 20 overs, with T Ravi Teja top-scoring at 33 runs. In reply, Dhaka Leopards were 77/4 in 13.1 overs, with Pinak Ghosh scoring 40 runs. However, the match was called off due to bad light. Sumon Khan from Gazi Group Cricketers was the best bowler, taking 2 wickets for just 8 runs in 2 overs.    

Right-handed batter Anamul Haque Bijoy continued to shine with the bat in the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League. In his first match of the Super League stage, Anamul hit 77 for Prime Bank Cricket Club against Abahani Limited and led his team to seal the match at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. It was Anamul's sixth fifty in the league. He also has two centuries under his belt in the ongoing event. The right-handed batter already passed the 800-run mark. Abahani won the toss and opted to bowl first. Prime Bank posted 273 runs for nine wickets riding on the 77 of Anamul and 44, 43 of Mohammad Mithun and Yasir Ali respectively. Shahadat Hossain and Mahedi Hasan also did well with the bat scoring 38 and 34. For Abahani, Dhananjaya de Silva was the best bowler taking 3 wickets conceding 57 runs in 10 overs while Mohammad Saifuddin also bagged two wickets for them. In reply, Abahani tumbled for 131 for 10 wickets in 32.4 overs and lost the match by 142 runs. Captain Mosaddek Hossain scored 65 but the failure of the top five batters cost them the match. Only one of the top five batters of them was able to reach a double-digit score. Rakibul Hasan and Nasir Hossain scalped three wickets each for Prime Bank. READ: Bangladesh likely to tour Australia and England in the forthcoming ICC FTP fixtures In the match between Legends of Rupganj and Rupganj Tigers Cricket Club in BKSP, Sabbir Hossain of Legends of Rupganj hit his first century of the season and guided his team to a 55-run win. Along with Sabbir, Chirag Jani also did well with the bat scoring 95 not-out for Legends of Rupanj. In reply to Legends of Rupganj’s 325 for five, the Rupganj Tigers socred 270 and lost the match. For them, Saad Nasim of Pakistan hit 116 but his effort was not enough for them to avoid a defeat. In the other Super League match between Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club and Gazi Group Cricketers in BKSP, Sheikh Jamal won by 72 runs. Parvez Rasool won the player of the match award for his 77 runs and three-wicket haul for Sheikh Jamal. And in the only match of the Relegation League, Khelaghar Samaj Kalyan Samity beat City Club by 85 runs in Fatullah.

Dhaka Abahani Limited got a walkover against Valencia Club of the Maldives in a play off match of the AFC Cup Football. Dhaka Abahani Limited scheduled to play Valencia Club of the Maldives in a AFC Cup play-off match on Tuesday (April 12) at Sylhet District Stadium, but the Valencia Club did not arrive here Sunday night as per schedule due to their financial crisis. They informed the withdrawal of their team from the meet and duly informed it to  the Bangladesh Football Federation and AFC in dying moment and the AFC cancelled the match awarding walkover to Dhaka Abahani against Valencia.  However, the official decision of the AFC is expected to reach here by Monday night. READ: BPL Football: Sk Russel beat Swadhinata KS 2-1 Despite getting walkover, Dhaka Abahani will have to play another play-off match on April 19 against the winners of Kolkata Mohun bagan FC and Sri Lankan Blue Star SC.  If Abahani will able to win the 2nd play-off match on April 19 then they will qualify to play in the Group D of the AFC Cup alongwith Bashundhara Kings of Bangladesh, Gokulam Kerela of India and Maziya Club of the Maldives.

Coming from behind, Chittagong Abahani Ltd forced six time-champions Dhaka Abahani Ltd to taste first defeat in the 12-team Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) Football 2021-22 upsetting their superior Dhaka rivals by 3-2 goals at the Shaheed Dhirendranath Dutta Stadium in Cumilla Tuesday evening. With the day's debacle, the treble mission of the  Independence Cup and Federation Cup champions Dhaka Abahani  suffered a big blow and they went  down in the title race having 13 points from six encounters. Holders Bashundhara Kings dominate the league table  securing 15 points from six matches while Ctg Abahani also entered into  the title race collecting 12 points from six encounters. In the day's crucial match, Russian World Cup playing Costa Rica booter Daniel Colindres put Dhaka Abahani ahead in the 16th minute (1-0). READ: BPL Football: Ogbugh's hattrcik enable Saif SC to earn 5-1 win over Swadhinata KS But their lead was very short lived as Ctg Abahani's Nigerian forward Peter Ebimobowei Thankgod equalised the margin n the 20th minute (1-1). South African winger William Twala put Ctg Abahani ahead from behind in the 37th minute (2-1) to the frustration of Dhaka Abahani fans  Afghan midfielder Omid Popalzay scored the 3rd goal for  Ctg Abahani astonishing Dhaka Abahani tent in the 64th minute that ultimately assured the defeat of popular sky-blue Dhanmondi outfit (3-1). READ: BPL Football: Robinho's penalty secures the 3 points for Bashundhara Kings   However, Brazilian midfielder  Raphael Augusto pulled the margin one back just one minute before the final whistle (3-2) but failed to avoid the embarrassing defeat.

Dhaka Abahani Limited smartly moved into the semifinals of the Bashundhara Group Federation Cup Football Tournament ’21 crushing Sheikh Jamal DC by 6-0 goals in the last quarter-finals at Bir Shreshta Shaheed Shipahi Mohammad Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur Monday evening.  Former champions Dhaka Abahani Limited will play Saif SC in the semifinal on Thursday (Jan 6) while Mohammedan SC will face Rahmatganj MFS in the other semis on the same day. In the day’s last quarterfinal, Brazilian striker Dorielton Gomes and local forward Nabib Newas Jibon struck two goals each while  captain Raphael Augusto of Brazil and Daniel Colindres of Costa Rica netted one goal each for the popular sky-blue Dhanmondi outfit Abahani, which dominated the first half by 2-0 goals.     Earlier, Rahmatganj Muslim Friends Society reached the semifinal shocking Sheikh Russel KC by 4-3 goals in the extra time as the 3rd quarter-final match between them was locked in 3-3 goals in the stipulated period at the same venue.  Later, the fate of the match was decided in the extra session  and local striker Ashraful Islam guided them team to the semifinal scoring match winner in the 119th minute with the frustration formidable Russel KC.   READ: Bangamata Football: Nilphamari emerge group champions beating Rangpur In the day’s match, Ghanian forward Philip Tettey struck twice in the 28th and 45+3 minutes, Nigerian striker Sunday Chizoba and local forward Ashraful Islam netted one goal each for the old Dhaka outfit Rahmatganj MFS in the 89th and 119th minutes respectively.  On other hand, Brazilian medio Thiago Amaral, Kyrgyz defender Aizar Akmatov and Brazilian forward Ailton Rosa scored one each for the Sheikh Russel KC in the 63rd,  82nd and 84th minutes respectively. READ: Fed Cup Football: Rahmatganj reach semis eliminating Sheikh Russel 4-3

Chittagong Abahani Ltd advanced to 4th place in the 13-team Bangladesh Premier League (BPL)  Football 2020-21 outplaying Bangladesh Police FC by 4-1 goals at the Banglabandhu National Stadium Tuesday evening. They clearly dominated the first half by 3-0 goals. With the day's feat, the sky-blue team from port city of Chattogram, Abahani Ltd moved up to 4th slot toppling Dhaka Mohammedan collecting 37 points from 20 encounters while Police FC remained at  8th slot with 19 points from 19 matches. Star studded Bashundhara Kings smartly clinched title of the ongoing league with four matches to spare securing 55 points from 20 matches after  beating three times champions Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club by 2-0 goals last Monday. Six times champions Dhaka Abahani Ltd are in the 2nd slot bagging 40 points from 20 matches, followed by three times champions Sheikh Jamal DC with 39 points from 19 outings. READ: BPL Football: Saif SC outplay Sheikh Russel KC 4-2; In the day's match, Brazilian forward Nixon Brizolara scored first for Abahani in the very 2nd minute from a penalty (1-0), Ivory Coast medio Didier Brossou doubled the Abahani margin in the 10th minute (2-0) while local booter Rakib Hosssin scored the 3rd goal in the 45th minute (3-0). Mohammad Swadhin pulled the Police margin one back scoring a consolation goal in the 79th minute (3-1) while Nigerian midfielder Matthew Chinedu sealed the fate of the match netting the 4th goal for Abahani in the first minute of the stoppage time (4-1). READ: BPL Football: Bashundhara Kings clinch title beating Sheikh Jamal 2-0

Abahnai Limited won a thriller against Gazi Group Cricketers in the Bangabandhu Dhaka Premier Division Twenty20 Cricket League on Monday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.  Abahani needed to score 52 off the last 30 balls of their second match of the Super League phase with five wickets in hand. Right-arm pacer Mukidul Islam conceded 21 runs with two sixes and two wides. This over eventually proved to be a turning point of the match for Abahani.  Mahmudullah made the job of Abahani tough taking two wickets off 18 overs, removing Afif Hossain and Mohammad Saifuddin off two consecutive deliveries. He, however, conceded nine runs with one six.  Mukidul conceded nine runs off the 19th over as well. Off the fifth ball this over, Mahedi Hasan’s sloppy fielding cost Gazi Group four runs, and in the last over, Abahani needed only nine, which they have achieved with one wicket in hand and one ball to play.  READ: DPL Super League: Abahani overpower Mohammedan Abahani won the toss in this match and sent Gazi Group to bat first. They posted a moderate total of 130 all out in 19.1 overs, with Soumya Sarkar hitting the highest 30.  Zakir Hasan and Mominul Haque added 27 and 25 respectively, but that was not enough for Gazi Group to post a big total.  For Abahani, Saifuddin bagged four wickets conceding 18 runs in four overs while Mehedi Hasan Rana took three wickets for 32 runs in four overs.  In reply, Abahani lost in-form opener Munim Shahriar for a duck while the other opener, Liton Das, added only 22 runs. Mushfiqur Rahim, Mosaddek Hossain, and Mohammad Naim also failed to do well.  But Najmul Hossain Shanto was firm at one end of the wicket. He kept the scoreboard afloat for Abahani scoring 58 off 49 balls with four fours and two sixes. Afif Hossain scored 14 off 18 balls, which helped Abahani get close to the win, and in the end, they won the game.   For Gazi Group, Mukidul scalped three wickets for 38 runs while Mahedi and Mahmudullah took two wickets each.  Earlier, Abahani won their first Super League match against Mohammedan by 60 runs while Gazi Group’s first Super League match against Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club was washed away on the scheduled day,  which is now rescheduled for June 22.  In the first match of the day, riding on the fifty of Saif Hassan and the wonderful bowling effort of Rejaur Rahman Raja, Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club beat Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club by six wickets.  READ: Shykat, Sohan guide Shiekh Jamal to first Super League victory Raja took three wickets to wrap up Shiekh Jamal for 123 for nine in 20 overs while Saif hit 60 to chase down the target of 124 in 17.4 overs. Mohammad Ashraful took two wickets for Sheikh Jamal, but that effort was not enough for them to avoid a defeat. 

Abahani beat Mohammedan by 60 runs Sunday in their first match of the Super League of the ongoing Bangabandhu Dhaka Premier Division T20 Cricket League. Mohammedan won the toss and opted to bowl first at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. Abahani – asked to bat first – scored 193/7 in 20 overs as captain Mushfiqur Rahim hit 57 off 32 balls with eight fours and one six; and Munim Shahriar posted 43 off 27 balls with five fours and two sixes. Also, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mohammad Naim scored 27 and 24; Mosaddek Hossain came to bat at number seven and posted 14 off seven balls. Also read: Who is the favorite to win DPL T20 Cricket League? In the last five overs of their innings, Abahani scored 61 runs, which eventually helped them seal the game. Ruyel Miah was the most successful bowler for Mohammedan, who took three wickets conceding 19 runs in four overs. Asif Hasan also scalped three wickets but he conceded 47 runs in four overs. Chasing 194, Mohammedan suffered a batting collapse in the first over when they lost two wickets to Mohammad Saifuddin. In the sixth over, the last over of the powerplay, they lost two more wickets to Mosaddek Hossain. In the very next over, Mohammedan lost two more wickets. Also read: DPL Super League: First day's play washed out At the halfway stage of their innings, Mohammedan were struggling at 49 for six. Four of Mohammedan's recognised batsmen were dismissed for a duck. They could not make up for the early loss of wickets and lost the game by a big margin. However, Abu Hider Rony hit a fifty and remained unbeaten on 53 off 42 balls with five fours and two sixes. For Abahani, Saifuddin and Mosaddek bagged two wickets each while Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Arafat Sunny took one wicket each.

Bangladesh and Mohammedan all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan offered an apology on social media platform Facebook after his shocking behaviour in today's big match against traditional rivals Abahani in the Bangabandhu Dhaka Premier Division Twenty20 Cricket League.  “Dear fans and followers, I am extremely sorry for losing my temper and ruining the match for everyone and especially those who are watching from home. An experienced player like me should not have reacted that way but sometimes against all odds it happens, unfortunately,” Shakib wrote on his social media page.  Read:DPL: Shakib loses cool; kicks stumps, throws them away “I apologise to the teams, management, tournament officials and organizing committee for this human error. Hopefully, I won't be repeating this again in the future. Thanks and love you all,” he added.  Shakib was leading Mohammedan Sporting Club on Friday against Abahani Limited. Mohammedan batted first and posted 145 for six. In reply, Abahani lost three wickets early.  After the fifth ball of the fifth over during Abahani’s innings, which was bowled by Shakib himself, he appealed for an lbw against Mushfiqur Rahim, but the umpire turned down his appeal.  Almost immediately, Shakib reacted by kicking down the stumps at the bowler's end and had a heated argument with the umpire. Then again when the umpires halted play due to rain in the very next over, and were asking the players to leave the field, Shakib approached the umpire near the stumps and uprooted them, signaling his disappointment. It was not clear why Shakib got angry at this point of the game.  Read:Three defeats in a row: Mohammedan’s struggle continues The match was eventually won by Mohammedan by 31 runs under the D/L method. After the rain gap spanning more than 80 minutes, Abahani were given a target to score 45 runs off 19 balls.  “Many things happen in a game. We saw some incidents today in the game between Mohammedan and Abahani today. It was unfortunate. It was a heated incident. We always want the players to keep their excitement under control. It’s a List-A series. We apply all the international cricketing laws in this event. We will take action against this incident once we get the report of the match referee and umpires,” Kazi Inam Ahmed, the chairman of the cricket committee of Dhaka metropolis, told the media after the game.