BPL2105 Match #29 Comilla Victorians Vs Sylhet Super Stars played at SBNCS Dhaka on 10 December 2015

Comilla Victorians 150/4(Ahmed Shehzad 42, Alok Kapali 32*, Ashar Zaidi 31) beat Sylhet Super Stars 79 All out (Jashua Cobb 21 ,Mominul Haq 15*, Subhagato Hom 3/8 , Ashar Zaidi 2/4 ,Andre Russel 2/9)  by 71 Runs

Player of the Match: Ahmed Shehzad (Comilla Victorians)

It was a Do or Die match for the Sylhet Super Stars. A big win and later a big defeat of Dhaka Dynamites at later of the day match could get them entry into next round. But instead they embraced a huge defeat and got knocked out.

Victorians climbed the peak winning big. Batting first Victorians posted 150/4. It was not an unassailable target. But Super Stars batsmen appeared like Tsunami stricken clueless persons and fell like pack of cards. Super Stars failed to shine as they were bundled out for 79 there by losing by a huge margin of 71.

Lot was expected from the match but very little were delivered. They were a little bit unlucky that this very crucial match was against the top team of the tournament ably marshaled by the shrewdest tactician Mashrafe. Victorians unleashed their best all round performance giving not the slightest opportunity to the Super Stars.

At the initial stage of the tournament, Super Stars let three matches slip out of their grip. They lacked some finishers. Afridi and few others joined their ranks later. But by then equation became extremely difficult. We are not sure the team chemistry was conducive also. Changing leader mid-day through the tournament was not a right decision. It affected on the performance.

Comilla Victorians are well clear at the top. Other teams may take lessons from the way they played so far. Victorians still does not have the strongest team on paper .But all contributed with commitment encouraged by their enigmatic “Never Say Die” leader Mashrafe. Even yesterday, he was seen giving affectionate hugs to the players like Mominul and Rubel playing for Victorians.

Lion hearted Mashrafe sets example by every action he does. Hope his wearing body keeps him fit for the business session. Let us start with post-match comments of the rival captains.

Mashrafe Bin Mortaza:
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 "Good thing that the winning momentum is back. Well, I need to get through the fitness test, but for sure I will try my best to bowl in the next game. I need to check with the physio."

Shahid Afridi:
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"I think the plan was totally different, but we didn't play according to the plan. We lost too many wickets in the middle overs from 4-8. I also must give credit to the Bangladeshi cricket board (for organizing the tournament well). The crowd also has been great."

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Victorians was put to bat on a wicket, which appeared a little better than previous days. Afridi was right as Super Stars had to work out their batting strategy to solve the equation for a winning endeavor.

Shahid and Tanvir made good start. Liton Das again failed to a sharp lifting delivery of Shahid. But Kayes and Shehzad dug in and kept the scoreboard ticking. The pair laid strong foundation with a 74 runs second wicket partnership.

 Shehzad missed a straight low full toss and was adjudged LBW after playing another quality innings of 42. Soon after Kayes also had a soft dismissal being caught and bowled by Afridi. This could open the floodgate.

Mashrafe sent in Alok Kapali and Ashar Zaidi above Caribbean all-rounder Andre Russel that many appeared to disagree. But these two rallied bravely adding 56 runs for the fourth wicket. Kapali is technically very sound batsman and Zaidi is one of stars of the tournament.

At 86/3 the match was delicately poised. Few more wickets could restrict Victorians to a much lower score. The feature of the partnership was rotating the strikes and strike boundaries frequently. When Ziadi fell after playing, another useful innings of 31 Victorians were in the safer zone. Kapali remained unbeaten on 32. Victorians set a target of 151 for the superstars.

The equation was such that Superstars had to overhaul by the 15th over and wait for Dhaka Dynamites loose big later in the evening. But their response was very ordinary.

Joshua Cobb struck some early blows. But all other top and middle order batsmen got out playing very ordinary strokes. The most frustrating were the ways Junaid Siddique and Mushfiqur Rahim.

Ravi Bopara was also unfortunately run out for a mix up with Mushfique. When Afridi was cleaned up by Zaidi air ran out of Superstar tank. They were crashed out for a paltry 79 conceding a huge defeat by 71 runs.

Mashrafe shuffled his bowling options smartly sensing urgency in Superstars camp. Shubhagato 3/8, Zaidi 2/4 and Russel with 2/9 suffocated the super stars. It ultimately turned out an anticlimax.

Victorians with this massive win climbed to the top of the table above Rangpur Riders. The top two will play against each other. The winner will go straight to the final and the loser will wait for the winner of the eliminator between Dhaka Dynamites and Barisal Bulls. To fight out for the other finalist.

BDST: 0942 HRS, DEC 11, 2015
RS