Eight rounds of the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League (DPL) ended on June 2, with all 12 teams having played eight games each. Here's a lowdown from the second phase of 24 games of the season so far:
Key takeaways: Abahani, Prime Bank chase MSC
High-spending Mohammedan Sporting Club (MSC) are leading the points table with three rounds of matches remaining in the league. Without a Super League to determine the winner this year, MSC are in prime position to win their first DPL title in 17 years.
Their cross-town rivals Abahani Limited, the defending champions, are in hot pursuit. But starting the competition with two defeats could cost them the title. Abahani's six-match winning streak since then has, however, kept them in contention alongside Prime Bank Cricket Club, who, like Abahani, are also on 12 points, but are third on the points table due to an inferior net run rate.
Best batters: Towhid and Shahadat
Prime Bank's Shahadat Hossain has nearly reached 500 runs in the competition - he's on 491 currently - following his second century, this week. Not too far behind is MSC's Towhid Hridoy, who is carrying his side's hopes of a rare league title. Hridoy is warming up well for Bangladesh's upcoming ODIs against Australia with 427 runs at an average of 71.16, with a century and three fifties so far in the DPL. Agrani Bank's Mahfijul Islam has also crossed the 400-run mark, with two centuries so far.
Openers Shahadat and Tanzid Hasan struck centuries in Prime Bank's 155-run win against Brothers Union on Tuesday. That was the seventh occasion when both openers got hundreds in the same game in the DPL, with remarkably the Prime Bank openers having now done it four times; Shahadat has been involved in the feat on three occasions.
Best bowlers: Aliss and Rubel
Prime Bank's Aliss Al Islam, the mystery spinner inspired by Sunil Narine, is on 22 wickets - six clear of his nearest rival, City Club's Abdul Gaffar Saqlain. Aliss, who already has a hat-trick to his name this season, took 3 for 15 against Brothers in his latest outing, while pace bowler Saqlain took 6 for 37 against Rupganj Tigers last month.
Md Rubel, another mystery spinner in his first season of DPL, is among the wickets too. Rubel has 15 wickets at an average of 15.26 for Gazi Group Cricketers. He took figures of 6 for 23 against Dhaka Leopards on Tuesday.
Best match
Agrani's successful chase of 327 against City on Tuesday will go a long way to ensure they remain afloat in the DPL next season. Abdullah Al Mamun's 151 was the main driving force behind City posting 326 in 50 overs. Mahfijul led Agrani's reply, hitting five sixes and 12 fours in his innings of 147 off 141 balls. He added 148 for the opening wicket with Shadman Islam, who made 78, before falling when Agrani were 18 runs short of the target. They eventually won with two balls to spare.
Points to ponder
Brothers, Tigers and Gulshan Cricket Club (GCC) are all rooted at two points each, which leaves at least two of these clubs with a chance of demotion for next season. Among them, only Tigers looked to be showing any form in the DPL's last round of matches on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Brothers and GCC, who are in bottom place due to their inferior net run rate, lost their matches badly.
Players to watch
Mystery spinners Aliss and Rubel, and hard-hitting opener Habibur Rahman could expect call-ups to the High Performance team that will play against Zimbabwe A starting next week. The selection committee would be pleased to see Habibur attacking Nahid Rana - Habibur took him for 26 runs in an over - and Taskin Ahmed at the Shere Bangla National Stadium.
