Mahadi stars with 82 to take Tamim XI to 221 for nine

Mahadi Hasan's 57-ball 82 under pressure, laced with nine fours and three sixes, ensured that Tamim XI reached a tournament-high score 221 for nine in the third game of the BCB President's Cup at Mirpur's Sher-e-Bangla Stadium today.

Asked to bat first, Tamim XI struggled to get going, losing wickets in key moments. They were stuttering at 154 for eight before rain halted proceedings with Mahadi unbeaten on a 23-ball 30.  It looked like a score of 200 would remain elusive and the trend of low scores would continue in the tournament but Mahadi's bat fired just at the right time for Tamim's side who were reeling from their 103-run all-out in their last game. Mahadi played some magnificent shots at the death of the innings before falling to Mukidul Islam Mughdho in the final over. Taijul remained unbeaten on 21 off 43.

Earlier, skipper Tamim Iqbal got a start but fell prey to Nayeem Hasan to depart with the team's score on 65 for 4.. Nayeem, took two wickets giving away just 28 runs in his 10-over spell that involved four maidens. Among the fast bowlers, Al-Amin Hossain shone the brightest as he took three wickets for 43 in his 10 overs that also saw a maiden. Taskin managed one wicket for 41 runs during his 10 overs.

All eyes were on the batsmen today, especially after the first two matches were low scoring encounters. And although the pitch behaved considerably better than the first two games with balls coming easily on bat, batsmen continued the habit of throwing their wickets away.

Shahadat Hossain of Tamim XI plays a shot during his 52-ball 31-run knock. Photo: Firoz Ahmed

Coming after a long seven-month break, the batsmen still seemed to be shedding the rust. Tanzid Hasan, one of the stars of the Bangladesh Under-19 squad that won the Under-19 World Cup earlier this year, yet again failed to capitalize after a good start. Tanzid, who struck two boundaries off Al-Amin in the second over, was in good touch before he threw his wicket away while looking for a third boundary in the over, an attempted pull that only ended as an easy catch to Mukidul at mid-on. Anamul Haque (12 off 13) edged a Taskin delivery to Soumya Sarkar at first slip as he also returned after getting a start. .

Shahdat Hossain and Mosaddek Hossain started the rebuilding process after that as the duo strung together a 40-run fifth-wicket stand. But that too came to an end when Mosaddek fell prey to leg spinner Rishad Ahmed in the 30th over. After that, poor shot selections from Shahadat, Akbar Ali and Mohammad Saifuddin saw them throwing their wickets away cheaply.

Tamim Iqbal and Najmul Hossain Shanto during toss. Photo: Firoz Ahmed

Can batsmen shine today?

All eyes will be on batsmen today as Tamim XI walk out to the ground after being asked to bat by Najmul XI in the third match of the BCB President's Cup at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur. 

The previous two matches saw batsmen struggling facing charged up pacers. Only three fifties were registered in the tournament so far -- from Towhid Hridoy and Irfan Sukkur in their bid to help Najmul XI win the opener against Mahmudullah XI while another was an unconvincing 82-ball 51 from Mahmudullah Riyad in the same game. None of the big names -- Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das or Soumya Sarkar -- could live up to their reputation as they seemed to be struggling to find rhythm coming to bat following a long seven-month halt from cricket due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Tamim XI, who were bundled out for just 103 in just 23.1 overs in a curtailed over game (47-overs-a-side) in their previous encounter against Mahmdullah XI, will be looking to get their first win of the tournament. Meanwhile, Nazmul XI, a fairly young side, will be looking to retain their top spot in the points table after having won the opener by four wickets.