Nazmus Sadat's scooped four off Rishi Dhawan's final ball of the match earned his team a spot in the Dhaka Premier League for next season. In the thrilling relegation play-off match in BKSP which had all the emotion of a contest for survival, Brothers Union defeated Agrani Bank by four wickets.
Needing nine runs off the final over, Sadat took a single off the first ball before Debabrata Das fell next ball. He had made 73 off 62 balls with six fours and three sixes, one of four fifties that propelled Brothers Union to 335 for 6.
After Das' dismissal, Sadat took a two and a single off the next two balls, before getting the strike back for the last ball with four runs needed to keep his club afloat. His audacious shot sunk Agrani Bank who had only earned promotion to the DPL this year. They now join Kalabagan Krira Chakra as the two clubs demoted to the Dhaka First Division Cricket League in the 2018-19 season.
Brothers Union's win also put to shade Soumya Sarkar's blazing 154 off 127 balls that contained 11 sixes and nine fours, his first century in any competitive match in nearly three years. Soumya and Dhawan added 171 runs for the fifth wicket, which took Agrani Bank to 307-5 from a precarious 136 for four.
Dhawan made an unbeaten 65-ball 80 that had nine fours and a six, but he saw helplessly as Agrani Bank's last five wickets fell in the last 18 balls, adding just eight runs. In all the big-hitting carnage, Sohrawordi Shuvo and Shakhawat Hossain took three wickets each.
The Brothers Union openers Mizanur Rahman and Junaid Siddique added 121 runs in just 13.4 overs before Mizanur fell for 62. He struck nine fours and two sixes in his 45-ball knock. Junaid, who top scored with 83, then added 77 runs for the second wicket with Myshukur Rahman. Junaid hit eight fours and two sixes but even after he fell in the 29th over, Myshukur and Das continued the onslaught. They added 88 runs for the third wicket with Myshukur making 82 off 95 balls with five fours and a six.
The three partnerships took Brothers Union to within 49 runs of Agrani Bank's 334, which they toppled thanks to Sadat's cool thinking in the last over.
The thrilling encounter sets up the DPL's finale nicely, as Abahani Limited and Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club have all to play for in the final day of matches in Mirpur and BKSP.
