BPL 2017, Match 10 Review: Dhaka Dynamites demolish table toppers Sylhet Sixers

In an absolutely lopsided encounter, Dhaka Dynamites dismantled the table toppers, Sylhet Sixers in what proved to be an extremely low-scoring match. The second match at the Sher-e-Bangla International Stadium on Saturday culminated into Sylhet Sixer’s second defeat in a row as the Shakib Al Hasan led side marched to a resounding victory. Dhaka Dynamites won the match by 8 wickets.

Having called favourably at the flip of the coin, Dhaka Dynamites opted to bowl first. The match was expected to be closely contested from the very beginning, owing to the fact that the two top teams of the tournament were pitted against each other. However, Sylhet Sixers lost steam early on and were unable to regain control over the match thereon.

The opening pair in the form of Danushka Gunathilaka and Upul Tharanga disappointed once again as they added only 15 runs and a single run to the team’s total respectively. The latter was caught behind by the keeper off a delivery from Abu Hider Rony in the second over. In at number 3, Sabbir Rahman quickly followed suit for the individual score of 1 (5) exactly an over later off Sunil Narine’s bowling.

The middle-over unravelled far too rapidly for the liking of Sylhet Sixers, with most batsmen not even reaching double figures. Starting from the 2nd over to the 6th over, a batsman was dismissed in every over, thus leading to an unceremonious crumbling of the entire batting line-up. It was only the late heroics of Abul Hasan (30) and Taijul Islam (16) that saved the team from being bowled out for a total lower than a century. At the end of the 20 overs, the Nasir Hossain-led side were able to muster a paltry sum of 101 on the board.

Dhaka Dynamites shine with both the bat and the ball

Shakib Al Hasan exploited his bowling attack to the fullest as the ball changed 8 pairs of hands within the span of the first innings. It was Boom Boom Afridi who ripped through the opposition’s middle-order, picking up 4 wickets in his quota of 4 overs while conceding only 12 runs. Narine was equally excellent in terms of bowling as he scalped 3 wickets for only 10 runs in 4 overs. The remaining 2 wickets were taken by Abu Hider Rony in his spell as he gave away 23 runs.

Faced with a below-par total, Dhaka Dynamites ensured that they didn’t get too complacent and attacked from the get-go. The openers, Evin Lewis and Afridi razed the opposition’s bowling attack to the ground as they hit monstrous sixes at will. While Lewis scored 44 runs off just 18 balls, Afridi smashed 5 sixes and a boundary to bring up personal innings of 37 runs off merely 17 balls.

Afridi, followed by his successor Cameron Delport departed on consecutive deliveries off the bowling of Tim Bresnan in the fifth over, but the damage had been long done. It only took 18 more runs from the skipper, Shakib Al Hasan to guide the team home.

More importantly, Dhaka Dynamites reached the target in just 7.5 overs, giving them a strong edge over the other teams as they accumulated a staggering Net Run Rate (NRR) of +2.684. Armed with a nominal total to defend, the Sylhet Sixers bowlers were taken for a ride, with very single one of them sporting economy rates of 10 or more. Bresnan was the only bowler to achieve breakthroughs, while the remaining bowlers went wicket-less.

Brief Scores

Sylhet Sixers: 101/9 after 20 overs (A Hasan 30*, Afridi 4/12)

Dhaka Dynamites: 106/2 after 7.5 overs (Lewis 44, Bresnan 2/20)

Result: Dhaka Dynamites won the match by 8 wickets

Man of the Match: Shahid Afridi