Chittagong win a humdinger
Chittagong came out in front by a single run, as the match went to the last ball against Sylhet Supers Stars at Mirpur today.
Sylhet needed nine runs in the last over, which was bowled by Mohammad Amir. Mushy took a single in the first ball, but he expressed his disappointment by striking his pad hard after he ran.
Sylhet Super Stars v Chittagong Vikings |
Sylhet: 179/6 (20.0/20 over) |
Chittagong: 180/4 (20/20 over) |
Ajantha Mendis failed to connect two deliveries from Amir, took a bye in the fourth ball and turned the strike over to Mushfiq. Sylhet now needed seven from two balls.
Mushy hammered a four in the fifth ball to give his side some hope. However, Amir had the last laugh as his fullish ball was drilled straight to the cover fielder, and Sylhet lost by a single run in this tense encounter.
Sylhet skipper Mushy was unbeaten on 50. He played only 34 balls and struck three fours and two sixes in his valiant knock. Munaweera was the top scorer with 64 from 30.
Shafiul Islam was adjudged the player-of-the-match for his superb spell of bowling. The lanky pacer captured three wickets for 25 runs in four overs. Amir was the most economical, and gave away only 19 runs in his four overs in this important game for Vikings.
Chittagong’s Shafiul dealt Sylhet a crushing blow when he sent back Nurul Hasan at a crucial moment in today’s match.
Nurul was looking good at the crease, and kept Sylhet in front but missed a full ball from Shafiul, and the umpire raised his finger.
Sylhet’s middle order batter smashed 32 from 20 balls with three 4s and a six to his name.
Sylhet Super Stars found Saeed Ajmal too hot to handle in his second over as the wily Pakistani spinner sent back the dangerous Munaweera and Mominul Haque within three balls.
Munaweera didn't get to the pitch of the ball, came forward and played a pick up shot, to end up giving an easy catch to mid wicket fielder. He blasted 64 runs from only 30 balls during his breezy knock.
Sylhet fans were treated to a flurry of boundaries from Munaweera’s bat, 13 fours and a massive six at the Mirpur stadium.
Mominul tried a reverse sweep, was in no position to play, and was found hopelessly in front of the wicket. The uncharacteristic shot from Bangladesh’s batter brought his downfall after he scored two runs.
Sylhet Super Stars got the best possible start with their opener Munaweera at his belligerent best. He smashed Dilshan for six fours in the 2nd over to set the tone of their chase.
Earlier, Chittagong finished their quota of 20 overs on a high with late hitting from Yasir, Mendis and Ziaur that allowed them to reach 180 for the loss of five wickets.
Yasir Ali held one end as the other batters tried their hand at the long handle. He scored 63 from 52 balls with one four and four sixes to his name.
Ziaur Rahman hammered 15 from 7 while Jeevan struck 20 from 11 balls during the end to give their team a good enough total to defend in this match.
Muhammad Shahid, Subashis Roy, Ajantha Mendis and Nazmul Hossain picked up a wicket each.
Jeevan Mendis tried to up the ante, managed to score 20 from 10 balls with two big sixes, but was unable to deal with Muhammad Shahid’s slower ball and was caught behind.
Anamul Haque lost his marbles and tried to play an audacious reverse sweep after only five minutes at the crease, and paid the ultimate price for his idiotic attempt at showboating.
He was struck in front of the stumps, and was visibly angry after he was given out. Munaweera was the bowler to send Anamul back for three runs.
Ajantha Mendis came back after some beating at the hands of Tamim Iqbal and dismissed the Chittagong captain to pull things back for Sylhet.
Tamim fell against the run of play when he chipped his drive to short-third man after a sparkling knock of 69 from 45 balls. By the time he departed, he entertained the Mirpur crowd with his trademark pulls and drives, and had six 4s and four 6s to his name.
Tamim carried his form into this match and smashed 50 runs from only 33 balls, and looked good for something big.
He was particularly severe on the spinners and used his feet brilliantly against Nazmul and Mendis, for singles as well as the big shots.
Chittagong lost their swashbuckling opener Tillakaratne Dilshan early when Subashis Roy surprised him with a short, rising delivery.
Fortunately for Vikings, their captain Tamim looked solid and didn’t waste any chance to put the loose ball away.
Sylhet Super Stars captain Mushfiqur Rahim won the toss and elected to field against Chittagong Vikings in the 3rd match of BPL-2015 at Mirpur.
Sylhet led by Mushfiqur Rahim have some injury concerns at the start of BPL-2015. Abdur Razzak injured his right hamstring while taking a catch during training. Rubel Hossain is has been added to the walking-wounded list.
Sylhet fans would love to see the foreign contingent, especially the likes of Shahid Afridi, Ravi Bopara, Brad Hodge and Sohail Tanvir to fire on all cylinders.
Chittagong Vikings were unfortunate to end up on the losing side on Sunday, but their skipper Tamim Iqbal took the positives from the game, and told his Bangladeshi batters to learn a thing or two from Misbah.
Tamim will feel the pressure of his assignment this year as the captain, and would definitely like to lead by example after his sparkling knock in the first match.
Vikings captain will hope his bowlers perform better during the death overs, and his middle-order batters to exploit the power-play overs to the fullest.
Sylhet Super Stars Team
Mushfiqur Rahim*†, Mominul Haque, Nurul Hasan, Mohammad Shahid, Nazmul Hossain Milon, Junaid Siddique, Nazmul Hossain, Abdur Razzak, Abu Sayeem, FH Edwards, BAW Mendis, EMDY Munaweera, JJ Cobb, BJ Hodge, RS Bopara, Rubel Hossain, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir
Chittagong Vikings Team
Tamim Iqbal*, TM Dilshan, Anamul Haque†, BMAJ Mendis, Ziaur Rahman, E Chigumbura, Asif Ahmed, Mohammad Amir, Shafiul Islam, Enamul Haque jnr, Taskin Ahmed, Naeem Islam, Nafees Iqbal, RJ Peterson, Saeed Ajmal, Elias Sunny, CK Kapugedera, Kamran Akmal
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