BPL 2015 Match 3: Chittagong Vikings (CV) 180/5 (Tamim Iqbal 69, Yasir Ali 63) beat Sylhet Super kings (SS) 179/6 (EMDY Munaweera 64, Mushfiqur Rahim 50*, Shafiul Islam 3/25, Saeed Ajmal 2/35) by 1 run.
Player of the Match: Shafiul Islam (CV)
BPL 2015 witnessed yet another thrilling last ball finished encounter. After a heart breaking defeat in the first match Chittagong Vikings just managed to overcome the strong Sylhet Superstars challenge by 1 run. The nail biting, hair raising contest went down the wire.
Requiring 7 runs off the last two deliveries of Mohammad Amir, majestic Mushfiqur scored a boundary on the 5th ball. Three were need for a last ball win and two for a tie. Mushfiqur managed 1 which earned him a well-played fifty. But his team just lost by the barest of margin. Chittagong Vikings survived by the skin of the teeth. Super kings bite the dust. Batting first CV put up yet another challenging score of 180/5 in allotted overs. Superstars could reach 179/6. It was a great escape for Vikings but only just. Two back to back last ball defeats would have put them in tight corner.
Superstars were excellent in their efforts but failed to hop across the final hurdle. Munaweera gave them blistering start, Mushfiqur controlled the chase to a nerve breaking final moments. But Mohammad Amir denied the superstars bowling cool in the final over defending the 9 runs required.
The match started over an hour after schedule. Two foreign recruits of Superstars Jashua Cobb and Robi Bopara’s BCB NOC did not reach the BPL tournament committee before the list of players was submitted. Mushfiqur was delaying to come to the toss as processing of NOC was perhaps in progress. When these were done Superstars wanted to change the list which was strongly and legitimately disputed by Viking skipper Tamim. In the process valuable time was lost. Finally, Superstars agreed to play with original list and ball started rolling. It is very unfortunate that two days of BPL 2015 already witnessed few unwarranted controversies. On the first day, few thousand Dhaka Dynamite fans led by their owner gate crashed and entered the stadium. This match witnessed controversy over players registration.
Vikings were put to bat. Their innings was again piloted by captain Tamim. Again he featured with an aggressive, again he failed to carry on and take the team to absolute safety losing his wicket in the similar flamboyant manner. He had time for converting his 69 to still bigger and taking the Vikings well beyond superstars reach. Yet his 45 balls 69 punctuated with 6 fours and 4 sixes (all signature strokes) laid the foundation of the challenging score. Dilshan scored duck. This time Tamim’s able partner was Chittagonian teenager Yasir Ali. He looked a bit tentative at the start but once settled batted with flair. His 63 was also featured with 4 huge sixes. Other than these two, none could maintain the momentum due to some tight and intelligent bowling of Mohammad Shahid (1/27), Subashis Roy (1/22) and Ajantha Mendis (1/27). Vikings posted a challenging score of 180/5 which could go beyond 200. Lack of batting depth of Vikings was again exposed. Credit must also go to superstars bowling for restricting Vikings to a manageable target.
Superstars made a galloping start. Tillekaratne Dilshan was savaged by compatriot Munaweera. His only over conceded 24 runs. The opening partnership blazed to 62 by the sixth over where the contribution of Juanaid Siddique was only 5. Shafiul and Ajmal removing Juanid and Munaweera in quick succession bolted the racing horse. Munaweera in 30 deliveries played a rocking innings of 64. A solid foundation was laid as by 8th over score board showed 76. Steadying the innings and consolidating the advantage was all that was required. Mominul failed to an unnecessary reverse sweep. Mushfiqur and youngster Nurul Hasan kept the tempo going adding 57 useful runs. Mushfiqur was looking majestic playing with deft touch and playing aggressive strokes as and when required. But unfortunately other than Hasan none could bat with a plan. Superstars were still in the hunt principally due to controlled batting of Mushfiqur.
The target was not out of sight. Nine runs were required in the last over. With Mushfiqur safely anchored the match went down to wire. High quality pace bowling of Pakistan’s fallen hero Amir drifted the contest to the last ball of the match with Super Stars still adrift by 3 runs for the win. Mushfiqur could only manage 1 failing to get under a full delivery. Vikings survived a back to back last ball heart stroke. Super Stars lost by just 1 run. Mushfiqur remained unbeaten on 50. Both the team deserves kudos for presenting yet another fascinating contest. Mystery bowler Saeed Ajmal (2/35), talented pacer Mohammad Amir and, off course, swing master Shafiul (3/25) must be credited for their exploits with the ball. Vikings were on the board after their second match on the consecutive day.
Chittagong having Amir, Taskin, Shafiul and Ajmal has world class bowling attack. Amir looked miserly, Ajmal showed flashes of his magic, Shafiul was steady but Taskin appeared to be feeling his way upon return from injury. Batting looks an area requiring huge improvement.
Super Stars could not field all of their foreign recruits. Yet with whatever they had they came so close but yet lost the match by only a whisker. After belligerent start the innings got bogged down in the middle overs. Mushfiqur looked pristine in his unbeaten 50 in 34 deliveries. His presence took his team so near. Another day another occasion such batting would definitely bring smile to his team. Addition of foreign recruits in the team in next matches will definitely strengthen superstars.
Going by the games regulation Tamim was very correct in not agreeing letting players not included in original list appear for Super Stars. It was not an amateur contest. Sportsmanship prevailed over the games spirit. Tournament committee could be more professional and the controversy could be avoided. Tamim complaining of rude behavior of some officials was unfortunate.
BDST: 0844 HRS, NOV 24, 2015
SR
