BPL 4, Match 29, Review: Dhaka Dynamites defeats Barisal Bulls to move to the top of the points table

Barisal Bulls were up against the Dhaka Dynamites in the 29th match of the season. With only a dozen of matches remaining in the league stage, the Bulls desperately needed a win. The season had seen contrasting fortunes for both the sides. Both had played 8 matches prior to their clash on Sunday.

While the Dhaka Dynamites had won 5 and lost 3, the numbers were interchanged in the case of Barisal Bulls. Coming into the match, the Barisal Bulls had luck on their side when they opted to bat after winning the toss. Skipper Mushfiqur Rahim roped in the Sri Lankan duo of Dilshan Munaweera and Jeevan Mendis. Dawid Malan and Rayad Emrit made way for them.

Clearly, Rahim wanted to strengthen his batting on a sluggish track. The Dhaka Dynamites, on the other hand, read the pitch differently. They dropped Mahela Jayawardene from the playing eleven briniging in all-rounder Ravi Bopara in his place.

Shahriar Nafees was promoted back to open the innings for Barisal Bulls along with Dilshan Munaweera. The move backfired as Nafees struggled for 13 deliveries before being dismissed by Abu Jayed on 3. Munaweera was joined by Jeevan Mendis but had to walk back after scoring 10 off 7, kudos to brilliant fieldwork by Mehedi Maruf and Kumar Sangakkara.

The batting woes for Barisal Bulls doesn’t seem to cease. Skipper Mushfiqur walked in to bat. With 30 runs in the powerplay and the openers back in the hut, Bulls needed a turnaround. Things got worse when Mendis was run out on 7 in the 7th over. Nadif Chowdhury came in at number 5. Rahim and Nadif put on a brief resistance to keep the scorecard ticking.

They took the Bulls from 37/3 in 7 overs to 84/3 in 13 overs. Rahim lost his wicket after adding 36 off 30 balls in the 14th over. It was his skipper counterpart Shakib al Hasan, who got through his defences. Nadif Chowdhury (21 off 25 balls) and Enamul Haque (3 off 4 balls) departed in quick succession.

The innings crashed and it was Rumman Raees’ late strikes that gave some impetus to the innings. An unbeaten 25 off 13 balls with 2 fours and a six from Raees saw Barisal Bulls finish with 132/6 in their 20 overs. Thisara Perera remained unbeaten on run-a-ball 15.

Dhaka Dynamites started their run chase with a shaky start. Opener Mehedi Maruf, who has 2 fifties in the series so far, departed on the third ball of the run chase. It was Taijul Islam, who struck yet again in the powerplay. Shakib Al Hasan promoted himself to number 3 as he joined Kumar Sangakkara at the crease. Both batsmen took their time to settle in and guided the Dynamites to 34/1 in the powerplay.

With the target being a modest one, they looked in no hurry. They put on a 50-run stand to have the Dhaka Dynamites in full command of the run chase. The Bulls clawed back in the match as they got both set batsmen in space of 8 deliveries. Taijul struck for the second time to dismiss Sangakkara on 32 (33). Shakib was caught and bowled by Enamul Haque on 22 (21).

Nasir Hossain and Mosaddek Hossain Saikat were the two new batsmen at the crease. Nasir and Mosaddek paraded along to take the score past the 100-run mark. In the process, they brought a fifty-run stand between them. With the equation reduced to 20 needed off 21 balls, the Dhaka Dynamites had a firm grip on the match.

Monir Hossain struck right then to give some hopes to the Bulls. He caught Nasir Hossain plumb in front of the stumps in the 17th over. Nasir scored 34 off 29 balls with 2 fours and a six before being dismissed. The in-form batsman Seekkuge Prasanna was the new man in.

With 12 needed off the last 2, the match was as good as over. Mosaddek threw his wicket away in the penultimate over. Kamrul Islam Rabbi was the beneficiary as Mosaddek departed with 23 (20) to his name. Prasanna (8) was sent back, too, on the very next ball following a run-out. With 4 needed off the last over, Dwayne Bravo finished in style as he thwacked Perera over cover to win the match for Dhaka Dynamites.

Dhaka Dynamites soared to the top of the points table with this 4 wicket win.

Brief Scores:

Barisal Bulls: 132/6 in 20 overs (Raees 25*, Chowdhury21, Jayed 1/12, Bopara 1/23)

Dhaka Dynamites: 135/6 in 19.2 overs (Nasir 34, Sangakkara 32, Taijul 2/19, Monir 1/12)