Bottom placed Abahani Limited will take on Mohammedan Sporting Club in the first Amber Victory Day Twenty20 Cup game of the day, while in the evening, Prime Bank clash with UCB-BCB XI at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka today.
The first game, which is scheduled to start at 1:00pm, is a must win match for Abahani, as a loss would all but end their hopes of reaching the final.
Abahani is certainly on the back foot after the loss of in-form skipper Mushfiqur Rahim, who was ruled out for two weeks after sustaining a back injury while making a second successive half-century in the tournament against Prime Bank on Wednesday.
Prime Bank currently tops the table with six points, with Mohammedan and UCB-BCB XI tied on four each. Abahani have two points.
The tournament began at the Sylhet Divisional Stadium and featured some exciting cricket in the presence of packed houses. The recently renovated venue will be used during the ICC World Twenty20.
The most eye catching performance from the Sylhet leg of the tournament was pace bowler Al-Amin grabbing five wickets in an over against Abahani on Thursday. Al Amin, who is strengthening his claim for a regular place in the national team, became the first bowler to take five wickets in an over in Twenty20 cricket.
Anamul Haque hammered a century against Mohammedan on Thursday to gain some confidence as he struggles to keep his place in the national side while all-rounder Shakib al Hasan and opener Tamim Iqbal both came into some good form on their respective returns. Shakib had been out with dengue fever and Tamim from an abdomen injury.
Tamim has scored runs regularly, though he has yet to convert his starts into the big scores that he would have wished for.Shakib hit a half century for Prime Bank and took 6-18 with the ball to destroy Mohammedan 45 all-out – the third lowest total in this format.It was Shakib’s second six-wicket haul in T20s, having taken 6 for 6 in the Caribbean Premier League earlier this year.
Sabbir Rahman and Mohammad Mithun Ali have also been amongst the runs to give the national selectors more options before the World Twenty20. The selectors say they will be putting a lot of emphasis on performances in this tournament, as there are still a number of places in the national side up for grabs.