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Story of a dull derby

Cricket Mohammad Isam
The lifeless Abahani-Moha-mmedan encounter was best summed up when Zunaed Siddiqui came on to bowl his off-spin in the 12th over. He cut a casual figure loosening his shoulders and measuring a short runup. As he confirmed to see if the batsman on strike was left or right-handed while setting the field. Zunaed offered a smirk or it could have been a hapless smile.
If one had hopes of a contest, it was over well before Zunaed came on to bowl but that reaction gave a window into the mindset of these players and their attitude towards such a big game.
Sahagir and Nafees were smashing the fast bowlers but the pair was about to face spin for the first time and it was Zunaed instead of Suharwardi Shuvo, Pakistani recruit Aqeel Arshad or even Mohammad Ashraful's flighted leggies that usually come to life when in Tigers' colours. Zunaed went on to bowl a series of full-tosses and half-trackers
which were duly dispatched by Sahagir and Nafees to wherever they desired and who could blame him? He hardly gets a serious chance in the nets.
But it was the ominous statement that was served through their actions on the field that was quite alarming. The national cricketers lacked heart for a scrap and were just too slow to react to any situation. Why not throwing up a leg-spinner against the right-handed openers Sahagir and Mahbubul Karim, just to make it a little more interesting. A score of 133 can hardly be defended; trying to buy wickets would have been the right way to go.
Basically, it never looked like the traditional Abahani-Mohammedan rivalry rather it had the passion of a practice match of national players before aTest series.
Experimenting with the batting line-up by demoting Aftab Ahmed was as big a tactical blunder as promoting Anwar Hossain and Aqeel in the order. Also, the use of left-handed Faisal Hossain against the Abahani left-arm duo of Mohammad Rafique and Arafat Sunny masked the underlying concern of the club management
over Aftab's frailties. Then came the shenanigans during their bowling stint. That it was over in only 21.2 overs may have secretly delighted some of the Mohammedan players.
However, nothing should be taken away from Abahani's comprehensive and arguably their biggest victory over Mohammedan ever. The tactical masterstroke of pitching the ball up to the batsmen paid rich dividends. Ziaur Rahman's pace and ability to swing the ball late has finally come under notice.
And when Sahagir and Nafees batted, there hardly seemed any demons on the pitch. Although Sahagir's poor run of form throughout the season thwarted his chances when the Tigers' wicketkeeping position went up for grabs, he drove beautifully and played some attractive shots off the back-foot against the spinners.
Ultimately, it was just another game -- the most used line of superstars before they face an archrival in any sports. Unfortunately, one was compelled to watch 'just another game' and not a clash of the country's most illustrious sporting giants.