Dinesh Karthik scores a century in DPL; helps Abahani Limited beat Mohammedan Sporting by 260 runs

Indian wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik scored a 97-ball 109 and combined with the Bangladeshi opening batsman Litton Das, who made 139 runs at the top of the order, to help Abahani Limited post a formidable total of 371/5 and eventually beat Mohammedan Sporting Club by 260 runs in a Dhaka Premier League Super League game, played today at Savar, Bangladesh. In reply, Mohammedan Sporting could muster only 111 runs and were bowled out in the 25th over, thereby handing Abahani Limited the victory. Shakib-Al-Hasan, the star Bangladeshi all-rounder took a 5-wicket haul for the winning side while also scoring 57 runs from 24 balls with 5 sixes and 2 fours.

The Tamim Iqbal-led Abahani Limited displayed a dominant performance with both bat and ball, as after a brisk start given by Iqbal and Das, the Indian import, Karthik, batting at No. 4, shared a magnificent 162-run stand for the third wicket, taking their side from 64/2 in the 14th over to 226/3 in the 39th over. After Das’ departure, Karthik combined with Shakib to further torment the Mohammedan bowlers and put up 101 more runs for the fourth wicket, before Karthik was dismissed in the 47th over.

As for Mohammedan Sporting, it was a terrible day in the field, and more so with the bat, as firstly, all of their bowlers were taken for runs and none of them could manage an economy rate of under 5 runs per over, and then, they were bowled out for a paltry total of 111, crumbling under pressure of a big score, and Shakib’s brilliant spin bowling.

Only 4 Mohammedan batsmen could get to double-digit scores, and Naeem Islam, their captain, and Mushfiqur Rahim, one of Bangladesh’s better batsmen were the top two scorers with 32 runs and 26 runs respectively. Thisara Perera, the Sri Lankan all-rounder, and who was the overseas player for Mohammedan Sporting Club, could not perform, either with the bat or with the ball, as he went for 75 runs in his 9 overs and picked up a solitary wicket and managed to score only 5 runs off 13 balls while chasing the mammoth total.

Several Indian cricketers have been doing well in the List A tournament currently in progress, the most recent performance being that of Pawan Negi, who scored an unbeaten 124 off just 89 balls and guided his team, the Legends of Rupganj, to a thrilling two-wicket victory over Victoria Sporting Club by hitting a six off the last ball of the 49th over. While the Indians may hope that these performances may put them in contention for a place in the National Squad, it remains unclear as to whether the BCCI would consider these performances as the judging criteria to decide a player’s credibility for a spot in the Indian Cricket Team.