MOMENTS
Lewis-Delport's hurricane partnership
Despite losing opener Kumar Sangakkara on twenty, Dhaka Dynamites' West Indian cricketer Evin Lewis and uncapped South African Cameron Delport blasted the Khulna Titans bowlers after being asked to bat. Both southpaws started to attack with sixes and fours where Delport struck two sixes and a four to take 21 runs in the 11th over to left-arm spinner Mosharraf Hossain. Delport reached his fifty in just 21 balls while Lewis at the other end registered his in 31 balls as the pair added 116 runs in just 54 balls for the second wicket, helping Dhaka to post 202 for seven in 20 overs.
The Bravo Calypso
There was not much to celebrate for Comilla Victorians in their defence of a 146-run target in their first BPL game as Sylhet Sixers openers Upul Tharanga and Andre Fletcher started with all guns blazing. But despite that it was Victorians' West Indian all-rounder Dwayne Bravo who had his moment to entertain the crowd. After dismissing countryman Andre Fletcher to break the opening partnership as he was sharply caught by Rashid Khan running backwards, Bravo celebrated the wicket with his typical dance moves to give a sendoff to the batsman. The famous celebration from Bravo brought the crowd to their feet after witnessing the famous Caribbean calypso dance for the first time in Sylhet.
Spinner Nasir shines bright
Sylhet Sixers captain Nasir Hossain was impressive in leading from the front with his off-spin and played a crucial role in both wins for his side. Opening the innings with the ball, Nasir denied the batsmen the chance to free their arms and utilised the dry pitch to great effect. In the first game, against a strong Dhaka Dynamites batting line-up he gave away just 21 runs from his four overs and bagged two wickets and he maintained that rhythm yesterday as once again he bowled a tight line and length, putting the batsmen under immense pressure. He ended up giving away just 18 runs from his four overs and picked up the wicket of Imrul Kayes to break the opening partnership.
Tharanga's consecutive 50s
After a match-winning, unbeaten 69 against the Dhaka Dynamites in the opening game, Sylhet Sixers' Sri Lankan opener Upul Tharanga continued his fine form against Comilla Victorians on Sunday. The left-hander was however unable to finish the game this time around as he was run out after scoring 51 off 40 balls, featuring five fours and two sixes. But before being dismissed he laid the foundation for the Sixers in their chase of 146 and along with opener Andre Fletcher, provided a good start once again. The pair added 73 runs for the opening wicket; Fletcher was dismissed for 36 but Tharanga went on to score his second successive half-ton and was adjudged the man of the match.
Sylhet's 2 in 2
Even before the start of this season's BPL there was not much talk about the Sylhet Sixers as they hardly have any big names in the line-up. But Nasir Hossain's side displayed brilliant team effort and managed to win the first two games of the tournament by beating two star-studded sides in Dhaka Dynamites and Comilla Victorians. Playing on their home ground in Sylhet, where BPL matches are being held for the first time, they have enjoyed loud cheers from their crowd and perhaps that has inspired the local boys to emerge as the surprise package in the tournament.
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