Mohammedan Sporting Club Limited rode on a brilliant century from Rumana Ahmed to lift their fourth consecutive Metropolitan Women’s Cricket League title after beating arch-rivals Abahani Limited by 77 runs in the final at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium yesterday.
The decision to bowl first in the pressure final paid the Sky Blues with dividend as they were given a flying start by their new-ball bowlers Jahanara Alam and Khadiza Tul Kobra.
But Abahani failed to capitalise on the early success as Mohammedan crawled back in the game from 26/3 to score 204 courtesy of Rumana’s third century in domestic cricket which came off 90 balls and included 15 fours.
“From the onset of the match I was confident of doing better for the team. Finally I did it. It will inspire me to do well in future,” said Rumana after their win.
“I made my place in the Bangladesh squad for the upcoming Asian Games and the century will morally boost me and make me more confident to do well for the country in Incheon,” added Rumana who was later adjudged as the Player of the Final.
Chasing the staggering 205-run target, Abahani experienced a slow start managing 41/2 in 18 overs.
Lata Mondal, the highest run scorer of the tournament (311) and also the most wicket taker (18), shared a 45-run third wicket partnership with Sharmin Akhter.
But with overs running out in the 40-over game, Lata’s 54 was not enough to lift the run-rate for Abahani as they were eventually restricted to 127 for 7.
For Mohammedan, the task of keeping the runs under control was evenly carried out by Salma Khatun and Eti Mondal as the duo shared six wickets between them giving away 18 and 32 runs respectively.
