BPL#3 Match#13 Barisal Bulls Vs Chittagong Vikings played at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong on 30 November 2015.

Barisal Bulls 170/7 (Mahamudullah Riyad 51, S Prasanna 36, Mehedi Maruf 28, Kevon Cooper 21*, Mohammad Amir 2/20, Ziaur Rahman 2/24) beat Chittagong Vikings 137 All Out (Naeem Islam 38, Mohammad Amir 20, Kevon Cooper 3/28, Al-Amin Hossain 2/34) by 33 Runs

Player of the Match: Kevon Cooper (Barisal Bulls)

Barisal Bulls delivered a shocking blow to Chittagong Vikings in their home ground Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong. Bulls won by 33 runs. With three wins in four matches the team from Southern Bangladesh is now positioned second in the point table just behind Comilla Victorians. On the other hand with just one win in five matches Vikings are now in a desperate situation just above Sylhet Royals.

Put into bat Bulls recovered admirably from early shocks 3/12 by the 3rd over to a sizable total of 170/7. Star studded Chittagong also started disastrously and lost wickets regularly to the quality all-round bowling attack of the Bulls. They were bundled out for 137. A capacity home crowd was completely silenced by much superior brand of all-out cricket. The better team of the day deservedly won.

Bulls were put into bat by Tamim after winning the toss. His bowlers immediately put Bulls on the back foot sending back the openers Lewis and Rony within the first two overs. When Sabbir was also sent back on a duck in the third over matters looked bleak for the bulls. Bulls blooded Mehedi Maruf for the match. Undaunted by the situation and Vikings bowlers, the new comer rallied with his captain Mahmudullah in resurrecting the innings. His departure at 52 brought another quick wicket. At 5/64 in 12th over very few could imagine what was coming. Luckily for Bulls their captain cool was well set by that time. Two foreign recruits Prasanna and Cooper proved ideal foil for Mahmudullah in two very enterprising partnerships. Bowling and fielding became very rugged as runs came thick and fast. 107 runs were added in the last 9 overs, couple of catches was dropped. Bulls posted a very impressive 170/7. Mahmudullah produced a polished 51, Prasanna blasted 36 off 20 and Copper remained unbeaten on 21 playing only 11 deliveries. Vikings made early inroads but failed to maintain the momentum. They leaked too many runs in the later overs and dropped vital catches.

The wicket was playing easy and with a very strong batting line up Vikings could have challenged the target. But all including captain Tamim, Dilshan appeared in a bit hurry. Tamim went early in the second over. Kamran Akmal joining the team from this match was callously run out failing to place his bat inside the crease. Cooper had a wonderful pick up and direct throw at the non-strikers end. Dilshan was blazing briefly. He too trying to play too many strokes fell early. Anamul also failing to deliver Vikings were reduced to 4/40 by the 6th over. Losing 4 top order batsmen in a chase of 170 in a T20 game makes it extremely difficult for a team to come back. Moreover, Sami, Al-Amin and Cooper were bowling intelligently wicket to wicket and varied their pace. None but Naeem Islam could withstand the pressure. His 38 off 40 and later some lusty striking of Amir (20 in 12) could only reduce the margin of defeat. Vikings could go as far at 137 losing by 33 runs. Five out of six bowlers used by Bulls captain got wickets. Off them, Cooper, Al-Amin and Sami were excellent.

Barisal in all four matches they played bowled and fielded well. In this match they recovered from early disaster of batting as well. They are looking good. They have some top order batting issues which possibly would be resolved a great deal when specialist opener Chris Gayle joins their ranks. Young Sabbir is having nightmare with the bat. Possibly he should bat a bit lower in order.

Vikings are in desperate situation now after losing 4 matches out of 5. They must win most of the remaining matches for a possibility of qualifying for the second phase. They have only to blame themselves. Their poor fielding and not too smart bowling let Bulls off the hook. They batted poorly in the chase, lost too many wickets playing casual strokes in cavalier fashion that was unfortunate. Vikings needs to bounce back and home ground is the best place for it.

BDST: 0955 HRS, DEC 01, 2015
SR