Beximco's 276 for nine in 50 overs, in an exciting match watched by a large crowd at the Dhanmondi Cricket Stadium proved too good for Epyllion, who were all out for 226 despite a skipper's knock by Tushar Imran.

Man-of-the-final Mohammed Shahjada, who wrapped up the show in the first ball of the 45th over, yorked Epyllion's Pakistani recruit Yasir Arafat and bagged five wickets to destroy the last half of the rival innings for just 28 runs.

Chasing an uphill target, Epyllion got off to a fine start when super-sub Sajjadur Rahman (40 off 74 balls) and national opener Shahriar Nafees (33 off 40 balls) put on 68 runs in 12 overs.

However, Beximco's Kenyan batsman Steve Tikolo, having contributed a master 53 off 57 balls, gave the side a breakthrough when he removed Nafees in his second over. Left-handed Nafees, who played some exquisite shots including a hooked six off Mahbubul Alam, dragged a delivery onto his stumps.

Epyllion lost wickets at regular intervals before number four Tushar came together with hard-hitting Arafat, to raise hopes of an improbable victory, even though they were facing an asking run-rate of seven from the last 20 overs.

Tushar, who was particularly harsh on short deliveries, smashed four boundaries and lofted left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak out of the ground for a six over midwicket, just after he was let off the hook by Beximco wicketkeeper Moha-mmed Shahin.

The wasted stumping chance on 54, however, did not prove costly as Tushar was run out for a 56-ball 60. The right-hander swept Tikolo and decided to respond to a call for a single by Arafat, but he was late to beat a throw by Razzak to Tikolo at the non-striking end.

Arafat, who stormed Epyllion into the final with a match-winning knock in the semis, hit a few lusty blows including a huge six that landed over the roof of the gym at the northern side. But his run-a-ball 46 was not enough to inspire the tail that was blown off -- they lost the last four wickets in the space of 12 deliveries -- by Shahjada.

Earlier, Akram Khan elected to bat after winning the toss and the Beximco captain could not have asked for more from his star-studded line-up, after the early loss of Rashedul Haque.

Rajin Saleh (50 off 66 balls), who clubbed seven boundaries, was unfortunate not to complete his half-century as the opener mistimed a pull against paceman Arafat and gave a leading edge to the wicketkeeper.

Runs also flowed from the bats of Al Shahriar (40 off 48 balls) and Tikolo, each hitting five fours. An aggressive Mohammad Ashraful blasted part-time off-spinner Tushar over the midwicket fence for a quickfire 30-ball 32 but the Epyllion captain had his revenge by luring his national teammate to pull a short ball to the safe hands of Nafees at the same region.

Tushar also clean bowled Tikolo in his next over to reduce Beximco to 202-5 but Akram Khan's trusted willow made sure they took the match beyond the opposition's reach, adding 69 runs in the final ten overs. Akram, who showed his disappointment over the decision of his caught behind, made 31 off 29 balls, inclusive of an unusual pulled six off fast bowler Shahadat Hossain.

Semi Finals: It's Beximco v Epyllion
thedailystar.net Sports Reporter

Beximco and Epyllion set up the November 17 final clash in the GrameenPhone Corporate Cricket League when they won their respective semifinals in dramatic fashion at two different city venues yesterday.

Epyllion pulled off a thrilling one-wicket win against Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar-led Acme Laboratories at the Dhanmondi Cricket Stadium while a star-studded Beximco defeated Gazi Tanks by four wickets thanks to a match-winning 59 by a vintage Akram Khan.

Both the semifinals produced low scores but excitement were aplenty although there were little or no fireworks from any star names. The four semifinalists, who were involved in frantic activities to make the best use of their one foreign player quota, also saw their overseas players contributing little in the crunch games.

Only Pakistani Yasir Arafat with a 40 played a part in Epyllion's one-wicket triumph over Acme.

The right-arm paceman cum lower order batsman made a memorable Dhaka debut first by hitting a 35-ball 40 and then taking two wickets for 19 runs. He was later adjudged man-of-the-match.

On the other hand, former Bangladesh captain Akram Khan once again showed his big match temperament in the twilight of his career with a fine half-century that took Beximco a step away from glory.

EPYLLION-ACME

Acme virtually lost the plot even at the halfway mark when they put up a modest 185 on the board despite a typically stubborn 58 off 115 balls from national opener Javed Omar and a clumsy 31 by Pakistani Tareq Mehmud.

But Bashar's Acme sniffed a spectacular turn-around when Epyllion lost all but one wicket with still needing five more runs for victory. The apparel giants however survived those nail-biting moments when their number eleven Shahadat Hossain pulled left-arm spinner Mohammad Rafique just over the close-in field and sneaked the winning single in the 44th over.

But Epyllion's road to victory was fashioned by a young batsman. Opener Shamsur Rahman, a member of the under-19 team that toured England earlier this year, hit a fluent 62 off 74 balls that contained four boundaries and three sixes. Pakistani Arafat then took Epyllion close to victory before being the last batsman out in the 43rd over.

Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore watched the game along with other selectors. But the Australian was critical about the quality of the foreign recruits. "Is he playing cricket? What's the point of fielding a foreign player like him at the cost of a local cricketer?" remarked Whatmore after watching Tariq Mehmud in action.

Out-of-favour paceman Tareq Aziz Khan claimed the first three wickets and finished with 3-33 in 8 overs while his new ball partner Shahadat took two for 39 and spinner Sabbir Khan two for 19.

Pacer Alamgir Kabir was the most successful Acme bowler with 4-25 while ace left-arm spinner Rafique and Hasibul Hossain took two wickets each.

BEXIMCO-GAZI TANKS

Veteran Akram Khan led star-studded Beximco to recover from an early damage to score a four-wicket victory against Gazi Tanks.

Chasing Gazi's 160, Beximco lost Mehrab Hossain (3), Al Shahriar (1), Kenyan Steve Tikolo (8) and Mohammad Ashraful (1) with only 34 runs on the board. But the big man joined opener Rajin Saleh to repair the innings as they produced 72 runs for the fifth wicket.

Akram hit 59 off 81 balls that produced nine fours while Rajin added a 99-ball 44 with five fours and a six.

Wicketkeeper Mohammad Shahin was the other notable scorer with 36 as Beximco reached the target of 163 for the loss of 6 wickets in 44.2 overs.

Earlier Gazi Tank saw a batting collapse after opting to bat. Captain Khaled Mahmud at least saved more humiliation by scoring team highest 43 off 56 balls when his side was struggling on 86-6.

Nazmul Hossain, Mahbubul Alam, Abdur Razzak Raj and Steve Tikolo captured two wickets each for Beximco.

League Preview

Twelve teams are divided into two groups for the latest installment of the CCL. GrameenPhone returns as the sponsor but they will not field any team this year. As in any other domestic cricket tournaments/leagues, the format has been changed for the CCL. Instead of a Cup and Plate title, the top two finishers from each group will move directly into the semi-finals, thus reducing the number of matches to be played.

The tournament committee finalised the grouping with Araf Apparels, Bangla Cat, MM Ispahani, Security Air Express, Gazi Tank and Epyllion Group placed in group A. Jamuna Bank, Beximco Group, Metro Real Estate, Bangladesh Biman, Acme Laboratories and Oriental comprise the other group.

Matches will be played at Chittagong, Khulna, Bogra and two venues in Dhaka.

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"We have introduced another competition in the calendar which will ultimately benefit the players. It is an addition that will secure their lives."

- Macky Dudhia (April, 2004)