BPL 2016, Match 1 Review: Chittagong Vikings humble defending champions in tournament opener

The Bangladesh Premier League, BPL 4, finally got underway after being troubled by the rain gods. Much to the delight of the spectators, the clouds stayed away from the rescheduled tournament opener. After having seen the first two days of BPL 4 being washed out, the board decided to reschedule the tournament from November 8. Defending champions Comilla Victorians took on Chittagong Vikings in the series opener at Dhaka.

The stage was set for the all-important first clash of the double header. Comilla Victorians skipper Mashrafe Mortaza and Chittagong Vikings skipper Tamim Iqbal walked to the middle for the toss. Mortaza won the toss and had no hesitation in bowling first. The Victorians went in with overseas power of Marlon Samuels, Azhar Zaidi and Sohail Tanvir. They also received a boost in the form of Pakistani all-rounder Imad Wasim.

The Vikings, on the other hand, had the services of Shoaib Malik, Dwayne Smith, Mohammad Nabi and English pacer Tymal Mills. Vikings opener Tamim Iqbal and Dwayne Smith walked in to open the innings as Imad Wasim shared the new ball with Mashrafe Mortaza. Tamim started off from where he had left in the 2nd Test against England. The southpaw took special liking to Mortaza in the powerplay. Smith found his stay to be an uncomfortable one. Imad Wasim got rid of him in the last over of the powerplay on 9 (15). Vikings finished on 36/1 in the powerplay.

Anamul Haque joined Iqbal in the middle. Tamim soon raced past his fifty in the 9th over. He could add just 4 more to his total after that. A combined effort from Liton Das and Hossain Shanto saw Tamim runout on 54 off 38 balls with 6 fours and 2 sixes. Haque played well for his 18-ball 22 before being run out by Marlon Samuels. It was down to Shoaib Malik and Jahurul Islam to do the finishing from thereon. Vikings were posted at 101/3 in the 14th over. The launch pad was set for the veteran Pakistani batsman.

He didn’t disappoint either. The duo put on an unbeaten stand of 60 in 41 balls to take the total to 161/3 in their stipulated 20 overs. Malik’s unbeaten 42 came off 28 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes. Jahurul remained unbeaten on 29 off 21 balls with 3 fours. For the Victorians, Imad was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 1/22 in 4 overs.

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The chase wasn’t a big one but it always needed a stable head to anchor the Victorians over the target. Liton Das and Imrul Kayes opened the innings for Comilla Victorians. Dwayne Smith and Abdur Razzak took the new ball for the Chittagong Vikings. It was a disappointing start for the Victorians as Smith made quick work off Kayes to send him packing on 6 in the 3rd over. In came the big West Indies batsman Marlon Samuels.

Samuels got off to a flying start as he hit 3 fours and a six for his 18-ball 23. He was caught at short mid-wicket off the bowling of Razzak just when he had started to cut loose. Liton Das (13 off 18 balls) followed him soon as Nabi was the beneficiary on this occasion. Comilla Victroians were reeling on 46/3 in 7.2 overs with two new batsmen at the crease – Nazmul Hossain Shanto and Azhar Zaidi.

Zaidi (2) became Nabi’s second victim in the 10th over as Victorians slumped to 58/4 in 10 overs. With 103 to get off 61 balls, it needed a herculean effort from the defending champions. Mortaza (1) and Imad Wasim (4) perished in quick succession to see Victorians struggle further at 77/6. The target kept going out of hand for the Victorians. Shanto fought hard for his unbeaten fifty (54 off 44 balls with 6 fours) to take Victorians to 132/8 in their 20 overs.

Mohammad Nabi was the chief wrecker with the ball. The Afghan all-rounder bagged 4/24 in his spell of 4 overs. Chittagong Vikings won by 29 runs.

Brief Scores:

Chittagong Vikings 161/3 in 20 overs (Tamim Iqbal 54, Malik 42*, Wasim 1/22)

Comilla Victorians 132/8 in 20 overs (Shanto 54*, Samuels 23, Nabi 4/24, Smith 1/21)