& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Titans’ easy victories

Sports Reporter
Title contenders Mohammedan Sporting Club and Kalabagan Krira Chakra were off to winning starts in
the 18th Damal Smriti cricket tournament with heavy defeats of their respective opponents at different venues in the city yesterday.
But both the giants made heavy weather in their opening matches, where Mohammedans survived an early scare before posting a six-wicket win against Bangladesh Railway while Kalabagan recorded a huge 127-run victory over Bangladesh Boys, thanks to a century partnership for the undefeated sixth wicket between Zakaria Imtiaz and Abul Hasan Nahid.
At the tiny City Club ground in Mirpur, an under-strength Mohammedans skittled Bangladesh Railway out for a meagre 83 in 38 overs and then went on to rattle up 86 for four in 17.1 overs to make the mockery of a match, whose fate at one stage looked uncertain following protest by the popular Motiiheel outfit.
Ine match started one hour behind the schedule when stand-in Mohammedan skipper Nasir Ahmed Nasu refused to play terming the newly-laid turf as underprepared. The former national wicketkeeper, captaining in place of regular captain Aminul Islam Bulbul who along with three other Mohammedan key players returned home yesterday after completing a disastrous tour of Nairobi, however, ate the his own words as the match finally got underway at 10.10 am.
Nasu won the toss and quite predictably invited his opponents in a bid to make the first use of the dicey wicket Although. the ball kept a little bit low early in the morning, the fragile batting line-up of Railway was only to be blamed for a paltry total.
Only Opener Harun-ur Rashid, who scored a defiant 24. batted with a purpose while others perished quickly, nibbling at deliveries better to be left alone. Harun's 20-plus knock was the only double-digit contribution apart from 23 extras.
Among the Mohammedan
season with Abahani. Joined Mohammedans this year.
Morshed Ali Khan Sumon, another left-armer in the Mohammedan line-up. captured two wickets in his seven overs. But it would have been a more resounding day for the young medium pacer had not the butter-fingered Mohammedan fielders dropped as many as four catches.
Unfortunately though. Hathurasinghe. the Sri Lankan recruit of Mohammedans, was also among the culprits. He dropped a straight forward catch at long off Sumon in the 37th over.
Although the Sri Lanka Test discard scored highest 23 runs in Mohammedans' innings, it was by any standard a rusty debut for the right-hander. The bald Sri Lankan, opening the Mohammedan innings with Parvez, did play some authoritative shots in his chancy 21-ball knock which included a quartet of fours, but he got himself out while going for a rash shot off the bowling of slow medium pacer Faisal.
Young opener Parvez, who was out to prove that there was
bowlers, former national left-arm seamer Jahangir Talukdcr Dulu returned most successful with three for nine runs in his seven nagging overs with the new ball. It was certainly an in spiring start for a wily Dulu. who after having a successful
no evil on the wicket, drove his way to a breezy 21 studded with four hits across the rope. Together with Hathurasinghe. the right hander put on 48 runs in only 8.4 overs.
But once the Railway skipper Introduced his spinners after the two new-ball bowlers failed to do any good. Mohammedan batsmen went through a brief spell of sheer panic. losing four of their wickets for the addition of only 17 runs.
Both Parvez and Hathuras-nighe departed in successive bails. Parvez was caught behind the wicket in last ball of off-spinner Titu before Faisal disturbed the furniture of Hathurasinghe with the very first ball of the 10th over.
One-down Selim Shahed returned for a duck, offering a straight-forward catch at mid-on off Titu, reducing Mohammedans to 53 for three in 10.1 overs. Tension mounted at the Mohammedan tent when Mehrab Hossain Opee was caught at silly point off Faisal after scoring 11 runs.
But thanks to a plucky unbeaten 14 from Sajid Hasan and a captain's knock of 11 not out from Nasu, Mohammedans reached home and dry.
Meanwhile, in the other match of the day on the eastern strip at the Dhanmondi Cricket Stadium, Zakaria Imtiaz and Nahid shared 126 runs for the undefeated sixth wicket to help Kalabagan pile up a huge total of 216 in their quota of 50 overs.
In reply. Bangladesh Boys were shot out for a meagre 89 in 39.3 overs as the wrecker-in-chief off-spinner Jewel Hossain Mona finished with fantastic figures of 9-2-19-4.
Mona was ably supported by left-arm spinner Sharfud-dowla- Ibne Shaheed Salkat. who took three wickets for only 15 runs in his seven overs.
Earlier, batting first after winning the toss, Kalabagan slumped to 90 for five before Nahid Joined forces with a portly Zakaria to feature in a spectacular rescue operation.
Zakaria scored an unbeaten 59 in his workmanlike 85-ball knock which yielded only two fours while Nahid. the young right-arm seamer and more aggressive off the two. clubbed seven fours for his dazzling 55.