Holders Abahani and leaders Mohammedan Sporting Club lock horns in a high-voltage battle of the Premier Division Cricket l eague at the Bangabandhu National Stadium today.
Weather permitting, the title-deciding last match of the Super l eague starts at 9 am.
Mohammedan, looking for their first Premier League title after four abortive seasons, are leading the six-team Super League table with highest 26 points, two clear of their arch-rivals Abahani. But that will have a little bearing as the winners of today’s match would walk away with the coveted title.
A win for Abahani would leave the two heavyweights with equal points, but the former would have the last laugh as they are maintaining a better net run rate (+1.27) compared to the latter’s + 1.21.
During the last (wo days, (he two Dhaka giants were busy taking preparation for the crucial clash.
Abahani have already flown in
Pakistani teenager Shoaib Malik to strengthen their attack. The ofT-spinner, whose action has been reported to the ICC following the (ri-nation tournament in Sharjah last month, will replace his compatriot Tareq Javed, lie will pair up with his compatriot Mohammad Hussain, who has been a match-winner for the popular Dhanmondi club for last two months.
The beefy all-rounder has scored 719 runs from 14 matches including a century and seven fifties. He also took 24 wickets with his slow left-arm spinner. Hussain is currently maintaining the number one status in his team with highest runs and wickets under his belt.
On the other hand, Mohammedan will look to their runmachine Steve Tikolo once more. Their star Kenyan signing is now at his marauding best. The number three batsman has already upset Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu's record of 1017 runs in the Dhaka league record. The terrific Tikolo scored 1072 runs from 14 innings at an amazing average of 107.2.
His compatriot Maurice Odumbe is the other foreigner recruit of Mohammedan.
Both teams appeared pretty
confident on eve of I he virtual final, which was originally scheduled lor Friday.- but was deferred by a day due to rain.
"I joined Mohammedan (his year with a mission and that is to win back the title after four seasons. We are just one match away from that and none can stop us. ’ said Mohammedan captain Min-hazul Abedin. "We have already beat Abahani in the first round and we are going to repeat it.
Abahani skipper Azam Iqbal showed no signs of backing away either. "We have no other option but to win (his match. What had happened in the first round is in the past. If we could win the match it would be a double delight for us - the title and the revenge,' said Azam at the nets on Thursday.
Azam hoped that Shoiab Malik would play a key role in upsetting Mohammedan today.
SUPER LEAGUE TABLE
Teams M W L Points Mohammedan 15 13 2 26 (+1 21) Abahani 15 12 3 24 (+1 27) Biman 16 10 6 20 Dhanmondi 16 8 8 16 Surjo Tarun 15 7 8 14 Kalabagan 15 6 5 12