BPL 4, Match 27 Review: Dhaka Dynamites roll over the Comilla Victorians

Having won just one match this season, every game for Comilla Victorians is a do or die game now. They were up against a strong Dhaka Dynamites team in the 27th match of the season. With the season coming to its business end, both teams needed a win desperately. For the Victorians, it was all about survival. The Dynamites, though, looked for dominance.

Coming into the match, it was Dhaka Dynamites who won the toss. They decided to bat first. Mahela Jayawardene was brought in the playing eleven and he got his second game of the season. The Comilla Victorians played with the overseas quartet of Khalid Latif, Sohail Tanvir, Ahmed Shehzad and Rashid Khan.

Mehedi Maruf and Kumar Sangakkara walked in to open the proceedings for the Dhaka Dynamites. Both looked set at the crease and played very cautiously. The surface offered nothing much for the new ball bowlers. They quickly added 38 runs for the opening stand in 27 balls.

The partnership was broken in the 5th over when Maruf was stumped by Liton Das off the bowling of Nabil Samad. He scored 22 off 17 balls before departing. Sangakkara was joined by his veteran Sri Lankan mate Mahela Jayawardene. A handy partnership between the two senior statesmen of the game saw Dhaka Dynamites move to a consolidating position.

Sangakkara’s stay ended after scoring 33 off 28 balls in the 11th over. Young Rashid Khan accounted for his dismissal. In his very next over, he got rid of Jayawardene too. Jayawardene scored 31 off 27 balls in his comeback match. Rashid Khan managed to get through the defenses of two of the legends of the game.

Shakib Al Hasan and Mosaddek Hossain Saikat then proved to be a costly deal to handle for the Comilla Victorians bowler. Shakib, in particular, started to take a few risks. They added 46 runs for the 4th wicket in 34 balls to put the Dynamites on 141/4 in 18 overs.

The launchpad was set for the in-form batsman Seekkuge Prasanna to clobber in the next two overs. He hit a four and a six in his 4-ball 11 to see Dhaka Dynamites post 170/4 in their 20 overs. Shakib remained unbeaten on 41 off 26 balls with 4 fours and a six.

The run chase began with Nazmul Hossain Shanto and Khalid Latif opening for the Comilla Victorians. As feared, the Victorians openers were overly cautious in their approach. This helped the Dhaka Dynamites bowlers to build pressure early in the innings. Shanto consumed 19 balls for his 17 before losing his wicket to Mohammad Shahid in the 5th over.

Imrul Kayes faced a failure too, scoring just 9 before becoming Abu Jayed’s victim of the day. Veteran batsman Ahmed Shehzad was the new man in. He lost the support of his Pakistani teammate Khalid Latif soon though. Latif’s steady yet slow 33-ball 38 was studded with 4 fours and a six. With 72/3 in 11 overs, the Comilla Victorians had an uphill task in hand.

The required rate was climbing up as Liton Das joined Shehzad at the crease. He could score just 5 before Seekkuge Prasanna got him caught by Sangakkara. Shehzad (22) and skipper Mashrafe Mortaza (10) departed in quick succession to give Comilla Victorians absolutely no chance in the match.

Wickets kept tumbling as all Victorians could manage was 138/8 in their 20 overs. The Dhaka Dynamites won by 32 runs to firmly stay among the top 4 in the points table. The Victorians continue to languish at the bottom of the points table.

Brief Scores:

Dhaka Dynamites 170/4 in 20 overs (Shakib 41*, Sangakkara 33, Rashid 2/26, Nabil 1/16)

Comilla Victorians 138/8 in 20 overs (Khalid 38, Shehzad 22, Bravo 3/32, Nasir Hossain 1/4)