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Mohammad Saifuddins All Round Show Leads Abahani To Dhaka Premier Division T20 League Title Win

Mohammad Saifuddin’s all-round show leads Abahani to Dhaka Premier Division T20 League title win

It was the last matchday of the Dhaka Premier Division T20 League and two of the top sides, Prime Bank Cricket Club and Abahani Limited were up against each other fighting for the title. Mohammad Saifuddin’s all-round brilliance led Abahani to the title win as the 24-year-old scored an unbeaten 21 in the first innings and picked four wickets. The Mosaddek Hossain side defeated Anamul Haq captained Prime Bank by eight runs.

The last game of the league for both the teams went right down to the wire with veteran Alok Kapali making sure that the Prime Bank team didn’t go down without a fight. Chasing a mere target of 151, the Prime Bank team did not get off to flyer and Rubel Mia, a consistent performer in the league for the Bank, kept on the chase with his sluggish efforts even as wickets kept falling. However, it was once he fell down at the team score of 98-6 that Kapali got into the groove and started chasing the total with all intent.

The 37-year-old along with Shoriful Islam added 26 for the 10th wicket after Nayeem Hassan and Rubel Hossain too fell cheaply post Mia’s dismissal. Kapali hit 15 in the penultimate over to bring the target down to just 15 from the last over. Running the risk of losing the last wicket, he kept the strike to himself in the entire last over but was able to hit just one six and hence his team lost the game by eight runs.

Earlier in the day, Abahani won the toss and decided to bat first. With the help of Nazmul Hossain Shanto’s 45, Mosaddek’s 40 and a late charge by Saifuddin, the team in blue reached 150 in their 20 overs. Rubel was the pick of the bowlers of Prime Banka, finishing his four-over quota with 2/22.

With this win, Abahani won the inaugural T20 edition of an otherwise established 50 over league called the Dhaka Premier Division. Before this game, booth Abahani and Prime Bank were tied at 22 points with 11 wins from 16 games.

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LPL rights holder IPG terminates Dambulla Viikings and Colombo Kings ahead of season 2

The Lanka Premier League has run into a roadblock just ahead of the start of the second season as the league’s right holders, Innovative Productive Group (IPG) decided to terminate two of the five franchises in the league. Dambulla Viikings and Colombo Kings, the two teams owned by non-Sri Lankan owners have been removed due to non-payment of dues. The Sri Lanka Cricket and IPG agreed that Kings, owned by Saza Group of Murfad Mustafa of Dubai and Viikings, owned by Telugu Warriors company of Sachin Joshi of India must be terminated. The two authorities also revealed that two other teams have been picked up as their replacement for the second season beginning on July 30. "It won't affect the league because we will be announcing the two new owners soon," IPG said in a release. "Accordingly, the Innovative Production Group FZE (IPG) has received multiple requests from many interested parties and in compliance with the contractual obligation of the IPG and Sri Lanka Cricket, for the said League, as well as in keeping with the requirement of the International Cricket Council (ICC), have submitted all KYC documents for approval to finalise the new set of owners for the said teams," the SLC said in another statement. The 2020 edition of the tournament was won by Jaffana Stallions when they beat Galle Gladiators in the finale held at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International cricket stadium. This season, the tournament running from July 30 to August 27 will be played at the same venue as well.

ZIM vs BAN: Mahmudullah added as cover for Mushfiqur Rahim in Bangladesh Test squad

Not allowing the injury to hinder any selection processes for the Test unit, the Bangladesh Cricket Board has announced that Mahmuddulah would be included in the Test side as covered for injured Mushfiqur Rahim. He would now be the 7th player on the tour who will be present in all squads. "During an emergency meeting yesterday that included the selectors, the board president [Nazmul Hassan] and myself, we decided that we can't take a chance with the injuries," Akram Khan, BCB cricket operations chairman said in a release by BCB. "Because of the situation, we decided to make the squad bigger. We are 80% sure that he [Rahim] can play, but we don't want to take a chance. We want to have a backup batsman in the squad," he added. The 35-year-old batting all-rounder last played a Test in February 2020 against Pakistan in Rawalpindi. In 49 Tests that he has been a part of till now, the Dhaka born has scored 2764 runs and taken 43 wickets. In the ongoing Dhaka Premier Division, the right-hander has scored 207 runs in 14 innings with a best of 62*, at an average of 23.00 and a strike rate of 111.89. The Bangladesh side with two new coaches in Rangana Herath (spin bowling coach) and Ashwell Prince (batting consultant) leave for Zimbabwe on June 28 and would play their first match, the one-off Test, starting July 7.

With long term prospects in mind, BCB hands Rangana Herath, Ashwell Prince short term coaching stints

The Bangladesh Cricket Board has appointed former Sri Lanka left-arm spinner Rangana Herath and former South Africa Test batsman Ashwell Pince as short term bowling and batting consultants. While Herath will remain with the team till T20 World Cup, Prince’s assignment is right now limited to the team’s Zimbabwe tour. The two of them will assist head coach Russell Domingo. "We discussed Ashwell Prince's appointment with coach Russell Domingo who rates him highly," Akram Khan, BCB cricket operations head was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz. "He will be with us during the Zimbabwe tour, after which we will decide. Herath will be with us till the World Cup T20. If things go well, we will think about them as long-term options,” he added. While Prince has been coaching South Africa’s domestic side Cape Cobras since 2016 and has been associated with the Proreas’ A side in the capacity of the interim head coach and batting consultant, for Herath this is a first tie opportunity at coaching. The 44-year-old Prince played 66 Tess, 52 ODIs and a solitary T20I for South Africa while appearing in more than 288 First-Class games across his home nation and England. Herath, 43, retired in 2018, before scalping 433 Test wickets, most for a left-arm spinner in the history of the game. Prince will be the third South African in Bangladesh's coaching staff along with Domingo and fielding coach Ryan Cook. West Indies' Otis Gibson is the Tigers' fast bowling coach. Prince and Herath will be travelling to Zimbabwe with the team next week. On the tour, the team will play one Test, three ODIs and three T20Is, starting with the Test at Harare from July 7 onwards.

The phone keeps buzzing: Neil Wagner ultimate career win in WTC win is yet to sink in

Neil Wagner and BJ Watling were the two players for whom appearing in World Cup or ICC event was a dream that would have remained unfulfilled if not for the World Test Championship. And Wagner in particular hasn’t let that winning feeling sunk in just as yet. For him, winning the Championship was the ultimate achievement in his career. "I can't speak for everyone, this is the ultimate for me to win a Test Championship Final though it's the first one and probably hard to compare with others, it's definitely the pinnacle of the game for me,” he was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz. "The support back home and support that was around there - the text messages keep flowing in, the phone keeps buzzing and to see what it has meant for Kiwi supporters and family and friends, means a lot to us too. So, it's definitely right up there,” he added. The 35-year-old said that he never dreamt of playing an ICC Final, especially as he was not a part of New Zealand’s limited-overs scheme of things. "[I had] never [dreamt of it]. That was sort of a dream and a ship that had sailed to be fair - thinking about the white-ball World Cup in some sort of a way,’ he said. But the announcement of WTC in 2019 got the 54 Test veteran excited as he saw a slight window of opportunity of playing in a World event finally. “I thought it was quite special and I thought it was something that's going to make Test cricket the way it is right now and make it quite exciting and add a bit more perspective to it,” said the holder of 229 Test wickets. The Northern districts player is not anywhere near to quitting as he wants to keep on playing with the amount of energy he has left in the tank even at this age. "Age is just a number for me personally. It's not always going to have the glory numbers or the wickets or whatever it is, but I've got a role I can fulfil for the team and as long as I'm needed or called upon, or I guess asked to do a job, 100% I'll be there to contribute,” he said. "If anything this [WTC title] has just urged me on to work harder,” he added.