BPL 2017, Match 14 Review: Comilla Victorians beat the Vikings by 6 wickets

Comilla Victorians registered yet another comprehensive victory and they managed to stay on level terms with table toppers Dhaka Dynamites. With this 6-wicket victory over the Chittagong Vikings, Mohammad Nabi and his troops are second in the table only because of Dhaka’s astronomic net run rate.

Batting first, it was Luke Ronchi yet again amongst the runs for the Vikings. His opening companion Soumya Sarkar started off well, but struggled a little bit later. Ronchi kept striking the ball cleanly and the run rate remained above 8 thanks to his efforts. Just when they were nearing the 50-run opening stand, Ronchi lost his composure and failed to convert this good start into a big innings.

Soumya Sarkar and Munaweera were present in the middle during the post-powerplay phase and both batters struggled to clear the fencing. Eventually, Sarkar was dismissed for a mediocre 30 off 32 balls and Munaweera soon followed him after scoring 19 off 25 balls. It was the Afghan spin duo doing the trick, with Nabi removing Sarkar and Rashid getting the better of Munaweera.

Sikandar Raza tried his best, but he and Misbah-ul-Haq failed to do anything significant. The bowlers kept bowling tight lines and the runs absolutely dried up. With Raza getting dismissed on the first ball of the 19th over, the Vikings just reached the 120 mark and were staring at a below par total.

But Chris Jordan hit few lusty blows in the final over and Misbah joined him with another boundary. They somehow accumulated 19 runs in the last two overs and the scoreboard read 139 after the end of 20 overs. Rashid Khan was outstanding once again as he returned with figures of 1/17 in his four overs.

Tamim fails to do anything significant on return

Comilla Victorians’ icon player Tamim Iqbal was finally back with the unit after missing out the Sylhet phase due to an injury. But the stalwart of Bangladeshi cricket returned, much to the delight of his fans. He failed to score anything in his comeback game as he was dismissed in the third over of the game after scoring 4 runs.

Liton Das learnt from his mistake in the previous game and tried to play a composed innings. Although he got to a good start, he was dismissed just after the powerplay and Imrul Kayes was joined by Jos Buttler, the same duo who took their side home in the previous game.

Once again, they chipped in with a crucial partnership in context of the game. Imrul Kayes was struggling with his cramps, but he somehow fought his way through the adversities and played a gem of a knock, which brought the side almost home. Jos Buttler was at his destructive best as well and the duo added 74 runs for the 3rd wicket.

Sunzamul Islam provided the breakthrough for the Vikings, sending Imrul Kayes for a well-fought 45 off 36 balls. Jos Buttler soon fell prey to the same bowler after scoring 44 off 31 balls. Yet, this wasn’t enough for the Vikings as Marlon Samuels and Mohammad Nabi wrapped up things in style. Samuels hit a huge six over extra-cover to register a scintillating 6-wicket win for his side.

Brief Scores

Chittagon Vikings: 139/4 in 20 overs (Luke Ronchi 31, Soumya Sarkar 30; Rashid Khan 1/17)

Comilla Victorians: 140/4 in 18.1 overs (Imrul Kayes 45, Jos Buttler 44; Sunzamul Islam 2/14)

Player of the match: Imrul Kayes