Rajshahi to face All Stars in Masters Cricket Carnival final

Acme Rajshahi will face Expo All Stars in the grand finale of the Masters Cricket Carnival in Cox's Bazar's Sheikh Kamal International Stadium on Saturday. In the first semi-final, Rajshahi beat Titans Khulna Masters by three runs. And later, the All Stars defeated Basundhara Dhaka division by 16 runs.Khulna v RajshahiRajshahi edged Khulna in a hard-fought contest. Khulna skipper Habibul Bashar won the toss and elected to field. The star-studded Rajshahi batting line-up was checked by controlled bowling from the Khulna bowlers. In-form Rajshahi opener Hannan Sarkar got out in the third over for eight. Khaled Mashud Pilot’s 24 and Alamgir Kabir’s late 17-run innings helped Rajshahi to 92 from their stipulated 15 overs. Neaz Morshed and SA Babu took two wickets for Khulna. Khulna made a moderate start while chasing. Bashar (12) was bowled by medium-pacer Hannan in the fifth over.

In the first semi-final, Rajshahi beat Bashar's Khulna by three runs COURTESYFour Khulna batsmen, including Bashar, reached double figures but was unable to score big as they eventually fell three short of the target. Eight runs were required in the last over and at one stage, four runs were needed off the final delivery. Rajshahi bowler Alamgir cleaned up Khulna’s Mohammad Selim in the last ball of the innings. Alamgir was adjudged man of the match for his all-round performance.All Stars v Dhaka divisionAll Stars captain Hasibul Hossain Shanto won the toss and elected to bat first. Opener Mehrab Hossain Opee lost his wicket early but the other in-form opening batsman Ehsanul Haque Seezan played another brilliant innings of 64 off 40 balls to guide his side to 113 for the loss of eight wickets in 15 overs. Shafaq al Zabir took three wickets for 18 runs for Dhaka division while Mohammad Rafique bagged one wicket conceding 25 runs.

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Dhaka were bundled out for 97 in 14. 1 overs while chasing. Captain Sanwar Hossain top-scored with 23 while Rafique scored 17. Talha Jubaer took three wickets for Dhaka while Masudur Rahman Mukul took two.BRIEF SCORESRajshahi 92/6 in 15 overs (Mashud 24, Neaz 2/22) beat Khulna 89/7 in 15 overs (Neaz 14, Alamgir 2/13) by three runsAll Stars 113/8 in 15 overs (Seezan 64, Shafiq 3/18) beat Dhaka division 97 in 14.1 overs (Sanwar 23, Talha 3/28) by 16 runs