Sports desk:

Abahani Limited suffered their first loss of the season as they lost to defending champions Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club by four wickets in the battle of table-toppers in the Dhaka Premier Division League match at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Monday.

Despite losing the match, the three-time champions are holding the top spot in the points table due to a superior run rate despite having the same 16 points as Sheikh Jamal.

In reply to Abahani’s 250-9, Towhid Hridoy scored 72 runs, while Taibur Rahman hit 63 to power Sk Jamal to 251-6 with five balls to spare.

Batting first, Abahani openers made 41 runs before Anamul Haque, who hit three hundreds in the ongoing competition, scored 15 before falling to pacer Mrittunjoy Chowdhury, who got his maiden call-up to the national team for the forthcoming series against Ireland on Sunday.

Mohammad Naim and Jaker Ali added 53 runs for the second-wicket stand to keep the score going.

Jaker was the top scorer for Abahani with 79, while 58 came from Naim’s bat.

With the innings, Naim became the highest run-getter of the ongoing competition with 640 runs from nine games, surpassing team-mate Anamul Haque, who is holding the second spot with 615 runs.

Following the departure of Naim and Jaker, Abahani kept losing wickets at regular intervals, and without any decent partnership, they managed to reach a modest total.

Ziaur Rahman scalped 3-39 for Sk Jamal, while Ebadot Hossain and Mrittunjoy took two wickets each.

In reply, opener Saif Hasan hit 39 off 42 balls, and a 42-ball 38 from Fazle Mahmud gave Sk Jamal a decent start.

Then, Towhid and Taibur shared a crucial 98-run stand to bring the side close to the target.

Captain Nurul Hasan struck an unbeaten 12-ball 20 to wrap up the tie for Sk Jamal.

In the day’s other game, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza-led Legends of Rupganj beat Prime Bank by five wickets at BKSP-4 to confirm their Super League berth after Abahani and Sheikh Jamal.

In the low-scoring match, Legends cruised past Prime Bank’s low 128-total in 24.4 overs.

Pacer Abdul Halim was instrumental in Legends’s victory, picking up 3-34.

Mashrafe scalped two wickets as they bundled Prime Bank out in 36.2 overs after putting them into bat first.

Nasir Hossain scored the highest 31 for Prime Bank, while veteran Mushfiqur Rahim could score only run-a-ball five.

In reply, Fardeen Hasan hit 47, while Irfan Shukkur scored a 31 ball-34 to power Legends to 129-5 to earn their seventh victory.

In the day’s remaining game, Agrani Bank Cricket Club registered a six-wicket win over Rupganj Tigers Cricket Club at the BKSP-3 ground.

Rupganj Tigers amassed 248-7, courtesy of Imran Uzzaman’s 67, skipper Naeem Islam’s 61, and Ankit Bawne’s 56 off 47 balls.

Anamul Haque was the peak of the Agrani Bank bowlers with 3-48.

In reply, Marshall Ayub and Shadman Islam hit 95 off 91 balls and 93 off 108 balls, respectively, as Agrani Bank reached 250-4 with 23 balls to spare.