BPL 3 Qualifier 1 Review: Comilla Victorians v Rangpur Riders, Zaidi’s all-round skills take Victorians to the final

The 1st Qualifier witnessed the top 2 teams from the league stages pitted against each other for a direct entry into the final. The Comilla Victorians produced a commanding performance courtesy a superb all-round effort by Ashar Zaidi while the Rangpur Riders failed to even compete with the bat in this highly anticipated match played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur. A target of 164 proved far too much for the Riders as they folded for a paltry 91 with a disappointing batting effort.

Winning the toss Rangpur’s skipper Shakib Al Hasan decided to bowl first which ultimately proved a disastrous decision. The openers of the Comilla outfit, Imrul Kayes made full use of the field restrictions and gave their team a flying start. Das was the first to be dismissed on 28 off 37 in the 11th over with the score on 79. Kayes continued his fine form and smashed everything possible. He brought up his 50 off just 33 balls in the 12th over.

The captain Mashrafe Mortaza came at number 3, however, was removed for 1 by Thisara Perera in the next over. Kayes departed in the 16th over for a brilliant 67 off 48 balls including 7 fours and 2 sixes. The same over from Perera also saw the wickets of Andre Russell and Ahmed Shehzad and the Victorians found themselves in a spot of bother at 112/5 at the end of 16 overs. Ashar Zaidi came to the rescue and produced a scintillating cameo smashing 40* off just 15 balls with the help of 4 fours and 2 maximums and took his team to 163/7 at the end of 20 overs. Perera was the standout bowler with figures of 5/26 from 4 overs.

The Riders reply started on a promising note with 3 fours by Lendl Simmons and one by Soumya Sarkar in the 3rd over of the innings bowled by Shuvagata Hom set the ball rolling. At the end of 4 overs, the score was 33 and it seemed that a well-contested game was about to unfold. Unfortunately, though, the slump began in the next over itself and the Riders never recovered from it. Abu Hider produced a magnificent spell of left-arm fast bowling and picked up the openers in his first over itself. Sarkar was dropped by Russell however out caught brilliantly by Hom off the next ball. Simmons got arguably the best delivery of this year’s BPL; the in-swinging yorker not just rattled the stumps but also floored the batsman.

The 8th over produced 2 more wickets in the form of Mohammad Mithun and Shakib. This time, it was the hero with the bat, Zaidi who got into the act with the ball as well. He and Hider took 4 wickets each as the Riders were bowled out for 91 in 17 overs. Perera and Darren Sammy were sent to bat at numbers 8 and 9 respectively in what seemed to be a baffling move. The Riders will need a much-improved performance in their second qualifier to have any chance of reaching the final.

Brief Scores:

Comilla Victorians: 163/7 in 20 overs (I Kayes 67, A Zaidi 40*; T Perera 5/26)

Rangpur Riders: 91/10 in 17 overs (L Simmons 25; A Hider 4/19, A Zaidi 4/11)

Man of the Match: Ashar Zaidi (Comilla Victorians)