Heavyweights flex muscles as reserve day deliver runs galore

A packed schedule of reserve-day fixtures offered welcome relief after Friday's rain-ravaged programme in the Walton Smart Fridge Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League, powered by Bashundhara Cement, across the capital on Saturday.

The most spectacular reckoning came at Pubergaon Krira Shikkha Protishthan-2, where Mohammedan Sporting Club Limited, their momentum barely dimmed from the previous day's interruption, put together a monumental 333/4 in a rain-shortened 42-over fixture.

The onslaught was engineered by back-to-back centuries of stunning velocity — Towhid Hridoy blazing 101 off 66 balls before Mushfiqur Rahim took over, smashing an unbeaten 100 off just 55.

Gazi Group Cricketers responded gamely, with skipper Sabbir Hossen anchoring a fighting 104*.

Taijul Islam's clinical 4 for 36 strangled the chase to seal a comfortable 47-run win.

At another venue carrying over from Friday’s washout, Abahani Ltd squeezed past Legends of Rupganj by three wickets via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method in a tense, heavily curtailed encounter.

Irfan Shukkur's magnificent 119 had given Rupganj every right to dream, only for a revised 20-over target of 167 to reframe the contest entirely — one Abahani reeled in with seven balls to spare.

The University of Liberal Arts, Bangladesh ground hosted its own reserve-day settlement, where Saif Hasan's assured 95 anchored Bashundhara Strikers to 251/9 and ultimately a 31-run victory over Dhaka Leopards.

Not every rescheduled tie was a run-fest.

Gulshan Cricket Club successfully defended a modest 201 to beat City Club by 17 runs under DLS, with Abdul Gaffar Saqlain's match-winning 5 for 37 doing the heavy lifting.

And Prime Bank Cricket Club rounded off the day's rescheduled action by squeezing Rupganj Tigers Cricket Club to 125/6, a 16-run DLS win, after setting a tricky 165.

Friday’s rain may have forced the delay — but it could do nothing to dull the cricket.