Quality present but balance missing in DPL

The Dhaka Premier League (DPL) witnessed some brilliant individual showings in three very one-sided contests yesterday which highlighted the power imbalance that remains prevalent in the country's premier List-A tournament.

Tamim Iqbal hit his second hundred in as many games and his teammate Mahidul Islam Ankon played some dazzling strokes on his way to making 75 off 96 balls to help Mohammedan Cricket Club register a nine-wicket win over Brothers Union at BKSP Ground 3.

Brothers Union batters had a hard time against Mohammedan's Taijul Islam (4-31) and Mehedi Hasan Miraz (2-30) and were bundled out for 187 in 48.4 overs.

In reply, Tamim hit an unbeaten 96-ball 105 laced with nine fours and four sixes in a fluent and assertive knock as Mohammedan, who are the most star-studded team in this year's league, completed their fourth straight win.

At BKSP Ground 4, Naim, who had made 176 to power Prime Bank to 422-8 in their last game against Brothers Union, was once again amongst the runs yesterday against Legends of Rupganj, scoring an 83-ball 81. However, the rest of the batting self-destruct as Prime Bank got bowled out for just 154 with part-timer Saif Hassan picking up 4-37 and Tanzim Sakib getting 3-30.

In the chase, Tanzid Tamim (68 off 49) and Soumya Sarkar (50 off 40) hit brisk fifties as Rupganj chased down the target in just 23.2 overs.

Winning matches quickly is fast becoming a trend for Rupganj, stacked with star players from the national team, as in their earlier match they bowled Shinepukur out for 69 and finished the chase in 9.3 overs. That game ended at 12:13 pm after a 9:00 am start, not an endorsement of a competitive league.

In the day's other match, Abahani, who have lost some of the sway they used to hold in preceding seasons but still have the likes of national team captain Najmul Hossain Shanto and Parvez Hossain Emon amongst others in their side, recorded an eight-wicket win over Partex Sporting Club.

Abahani first bowled Partex out for 100 before Parvez's 50-ball 55 and Mosaddek Hossain's 27-ball 37 ended the chase inside 15 overs.

In club cricket, the clubs serve their own purpose and the team that spends the most can acquire the best quality players. But if only a few teams completely overpower the remaining teams, that creates an imbalance that is far from ideal from a national interest point of view.

Bangladesh's premier 50-over competition suffers from a lack of grind that cricketers are supposed to face in domestic cricket to get ahead in international cricket.

With the changes in cricket administration after the fall of the Awami League regime, expectations were that the teams will even out further in terms of strength and more title contenders would emerge.

But so far, only the names of the dominant outfits have changed, the power dynamics remain the same.