BPL 3 Match 5 Review: Comilla Victorians v Chittagong Vikings, Samuels-Mortaza star as Victorians register their first win

BPL 3 Match 5 Review: Comilla Victorians v Chittagong Vikings, Samuels-Mortaza star as Victorians register their first win: The Chittagong Vikings played their third consecutive match against Comilla Victorians who were looking to open their account in the competition. At the back of a win yesterday against the Sylhet team, the Chittagong outfit was looking to continue their winning momentum. Winning the toss Mortaza, the Victorians’ skipper, decided to bowl first and the decision eventually turned out to be a good one. He had a brilliant game picking up a wicket but more importantly played the captain’s knock with the bat. His partnership with Marlon Samuels helped his team register its first victory handing out a 7-wicket drubbing to the Vikings.

The power-play overs can be huge and Victorians cashed on it as Dilshan struck 3 back-to-back boundaries of Mahmudul Hasan in the first over of the innings. All the 3 shots were beautifully hit through the covers. Santokie bowled a tight second over however the skipper spoiled the good work conceding 3 fours in the next over. Dilshan was looking in ominous mood and raced to 21 off 7 balls. By the end of 6 overs, the Vikings were on 53 with the Sri Lankan going strong on 34 off 18 in the company of his captain who was on 15 off 16 and looking to give him as much of the strike as possible.

Ashar Zaidi provided the breakthrough when Dilshan top-edged an attempted switch hit to point. Well set on 36 off 21 and being the senior batsman in the team, the opener unnecessarily threw hit wicket. Zaidi picked up his second wicket, that of Tamim on 33 off 31 balls when he mistimed one to long off. Mortaza cleaned up Kapugedera bowling a slower one flummoxing the Sri Lankan who tried to swing it over midwicket. Yasir Ali and Anamul Haque took the score to 123 from 15.4 overs before Ali was stumped being beaten by a leg-cuter from Sunil Narine. Ziaur Rahman smashed Abu Hider for 26 runs; striking 3 huge sixes in the penultimate over he took his team to 176/4 at the end of the innings playing a brilliant cameo of 39* from 16 balls. Haque scored 39* off 30 balls as the Vikings out on a fighting total.

In reply, the Victorians got off to a horrible start. Litton Das was lucky to have survived an inside edge off the first ball of the innings however Imrul Kayes didn’t have any such luck on the first ball he faced. Amir generated a bit of movement and Kayes, early in his shot tried to flick it and ended up giving a simple catch to mid-on. Amir picked up his second wicket when Das was caught at midwicket mistiming a pull off a short ball. Shuvagata Hom smashed Taskin over in the next over for 3 fours and belted Shafiul Islam for a four and 2 sixes in the fourth and fifth overs respectively.

Islam had his revenge when he bowled a slower one which Hom tried to swing but couldn’t clear the point fielder. Dilshan running backward took a blinder and put his team in a strong position. Hom scored 30 off 16 balls and gave the innings the impetus it needed, however, it has to be continued and in walked the captain Mortaza looking to do exactly that. He and Samuels rotated the strike however also kept producing the big hits consistently. At least one four or six was hit in every over until the 15th over in which Mortaza was dropped at long-off. He made full use of the life smashing Taskin for 2 fours in the next over.

Samuels also looked in fine touch and hit some lusty blows. He got a life in the 18th over trying to go for a pull shot which he couldn’t connect, but the fielder at deep midwicket dropped it. The West Indian hit the next ball for four and had smashed a six which brought up his fifty, and a four of the first 2 balls in the same over to bring down the equation to 12 off 12. Amir bowled this over and a thick edge off the second ball for a four by Samuels almost sealed the deal for the Victorians. Mortaza brought up his half-century off just 30 balls and finished the match with a four squeezing one past backward point.

Brief Scores:

Chittagong Vikings – 176/4 in 20 overs (Ziaur Rahman 39*; Ashar Zaidi 2/29)

Comilla Victorians – 177/3 in 18.5 overs (Marlon Samuels 69*, Mashrafe Mortaza 56*; Mohammad Amir 2/27)