Comilla make Dhaka sweat for victory

Comilla Victorians took the game to the last over but were unable to prevent Dhaka reach home by six wickets in the 2nd game of BPL-2015 at Mirpur Stadium today.

With only 110 to defend, Mashrafe and his boys made it difficult for Dhaka but they didn’t have enough runs and paid the ultimate price for a dismal batting performance earlier in the day.

For Dhaka, the 2nd wicket stand of 55 runs between Nasir Jamshed and Kumar Sangakkara took their team home without much fuss.

Nasir was dismissed for a well-made 44 while Sanga scored 25. A flurry of wickets in the end delayed the inevitable for Dhaka, but they crossed the line with only four balls left in the match.

Abu Haider of Dhaka was the most successful bowler for his team, took two wickets for only 17 runs in four overs. Mashrafe and Sunil Narine took a wicket each.

Sunil Narine came back in his spell and dismissed the rampant Nasir Jamshed with a superb delivery that turned back from middle and struck the batter in front.

Nasir played a useful knock, and took his team closer to victory with 44 runs from 44 balls with eights boundaries to his name. He weathered the difficult spells early on, and opened his shoulders when spinners came into play.

After the early jitters, Dhaka batsmen Nasir Jamshed and Kumar Sangakkara steadied the innings with sensible and relatively risk-free batting.

Both of them were comfortable picking up the ones and twos on offer, and didn’t waste any chance to put away the loose ball for spinners or medium pacers.

Comilla captain Mashrafe Mortaza gave his team the first breakthrough when Shamsur Rahman chipped his shot straight down the throat of Samuels at mid-off.

Shamsur didn’t look entirely comfortable at the crease, and managed to score 19 from 17 balls with three hits across the boundary line.

Dhaka Dynamites openers Shamsur Rahman and Nasir Jamshed looked unsettled at the crease in their quest to overtake Comilla’s below par total.

Earlier, after a torrid start, Comilla managed to reach 110 in 20 overs for the loss of eight wickets, thanks largely to useful contributions lower down the order from Mahmudul, Ariful, Mashrafe and Santokie.

Abul Hasan was the pick of the bowlers from Dhaka as he took three wickets for 29 runs in four overs. Mosharraf claimed two for 15 to halt Comilla’s progress.

It was a dismal show from Comilla’s top-order, and their performance read like a phone number, 0-3-8-4-5 before the lower order came to the rescue.

Comilla lost all hopes of recovery when Mosharraf Hossain took two quick wickets to leave the Victorians reeling at 67 for seven with six overs left to bat.

Mosharraf Hossain hammered the last nail in Comilla’s coffin when he sent back Mahmudul Hasan and Ariful Haque in two overs, the sixth and seventh batsmen to fall in the match.

Ariful kept the scoreboard ticking with ones and twos, scored 13 runs from 13 balls before he lost his cool and was easily stumped by Sanga.

Mahmudul Hasan was the key wicket, as he kept Comilla afloat when wicket kept falling at the other end. He managed to get 22 runs from 30 balls with two hits across the fence.

Comilla’s stuttering innings struck another bump as they lost their fifth wicket, that of Darren Stevens to a run out inside eight overs and only 37 runs on the board.

Stevens scratched around for 14 balls, only managed to score five before going back to the pavilion shaking his head in disappointment.

Mustafizur Rahman kept the batters honest with his mix of cutters and conventional deliveries, and was duly rewarded for his efforts when Marlon Samuels was bowled neck and croft for eight.

Abul Hasan of Dhaka took two wickets while Farhad Reza captured one to leave Comilla struggling after they decided to bat first winning the toss.

Imrul Kayes was dismissed in the third ball of the match when he mistimed his lofted shot only to be caught at mid-off for a duck. Abul was the bowler.

Forhad took only two balls to get a breakthrough when Liton Das was caught at mid-on for three runs.

Things went bad to worse for Comilla as their top-order failed to cope with the bowling from Dhaka Dynamites.

Abul Hasan picked up his second wicket when Shuvagata Hom top-edged a flick and was sent back for four runs to his name.

Comilla captain Mashrafe won the toss and elected to bat first in the 2nd game of BPL-2015 against Dhaka at Mirpur stadium.

The newcomers Comilla will be led by Mashrafe Mortaza, who led Dhaka Gladiators to the title in the 2013 season.

The set-up is also bolstered by other Bangladesh internationals in Imrul Kayes, Liton Das, and Shuvagata Hom. However, the youngsters - Ariful Haque, Mahmudul Hasan, and Sunzamul Isam - need to step up to lend balance to Victorians.

A lot will depend on the foreign contingent with Andre Russell, Shoaib Malik and Ahmed Shehzad arriving later in the tournament. Victorians will pin their hopes on the West Indian pair of Marlon Samuels and Sunil Narine while 39-year-old Darren Stevens from England is expected to double up as a middle-order batsman and change-up seamer.

The likes of Nasir Jamshed, Ryan ten Doeschate, Kumar Sangakkara, Nasir Hossain, and Mustafizur Rahman give Dhaka Dynamites a dangerous look.

Yasir Shah is another aggressive pick while Mosharraf Hossain was a strong performer in the previous BPL for the Dhaka Gladiators.

The local back-up options could spring a surprise or two as Mosaddek Hossain Saikat, Abul Hasan and Shamsur Rahman had produced good performances in this season's domestic competitions.

Mickey Arthur is the most high-profile coach in the tournament, and much will be expected from this team this season.

Dhaka Dynamites Team

KC Sangakkara (Captain), Abul Hasan, Farhad Reza, Irfan Sukkur (Wicketkeeper), Mohammad Irfan, Mosaddek Hossain, Mosharraf Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Nasir Jamshed, Shamsur Rahman, Shykat Ali, Sohail Khan, RN ten Doeschate, Yasir Shah, HDRL Thirimanne and Nabil Samad

Comilla Victorians Team

Mashrafe Mortaza (Captain), Abu Hider, Ahmed Shehzad, Alok Kapali, Ariful Haque, Dhiman Ghosh, Imrul Kayes, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, KMDN Kulasekara, Liton Das (Wicketkeeper), Mahmudul Hasan, Naeem Islam jnr, SP Narine, AD Russell, MN Samuels, K Santokie, Shuvagata Hom and  DI Stevens