BPL 2016, Match 2 Review: Mehedi Maruf powers Dhaka Dynamites to 8 wicket win

The stage was set for the second match of the opening day of BPL 4. Two-time champions Dhaka franchise, Dhaka Dynamites, locked horns with the runner-up of the last edition of BPL – Barisal Bulls. Two big teams and some big names were in action. Dhaka Dynamites skipper Shakib Al Hasan and Barisal Bulls skipper Mushfiqur Rahim walked to the middle for the toss. Shakib had the lucky call and he opted to bowl first.

Dynamites fielded Kumar Sangakkara, Ravi Bopara, Andre Russell and Dwayne Bravo as their four overseas players for the match. Bulls fielded Dilshan Munaweera, Thisara Perera, Rayad Emrit and Dawid Malan. In walked the Barisal openers Shamsur Rahman and Munaweera. Andre Russell and Mohammad Shahid started the proceedings for Dynamites with the ball. It was a disappointing start for Bulls as they lost Rahman cheaply on 6 and was dismissed by Shahid.

His opening partner Munaweera didn’t last long either and was dismissed on 12 by Dwayne Bravo. Dawid Malan’s 15-ball 16 was curtailed by Shakib to have Bulls reeling on 44/3 in 8 overs. Skipper Mushfiqur Rahim and Shahriar Nafees then did the job of rebuilding the innings. They took the counter-attack and played in the aggressive mode. Both players weren’t hesitant in upping the ante. They forged an 82 run stand for the fourth wicket in just 51 balls.

En route their innings saving stand, Nafees reached his fifty in the 16th over. His quickfire 55 came off 34 balls with 7 fours and 2 sixes. The stand was broken by Shahid who cleaned up Nafees. Perera and Emrit fell cheaply and the innings couldn’t take off in the wee overs after the departure of Nafees. Rahim continued to stage a lone battle thereafter.

It was on the last ball of the innings when Rahim reached his fifty in 36 balls. His unbeaten 50 was studded with 4 fours and 2 sixes. Barisal Bulls could post only 148/6 in their 20 overs. Mohammad Shahid was the pick of the bowlers with 3/21 in his 4 overs.

The Dhaka Dynamites openers Mehedi Maruf and Kumar Sangakkara looked in sublime touch. Class of Sangakkara combined with aggression of Maruf saw Dynamites go off to a flying start in their run chase. At one stage, Bulls were staring down at a 10 wicket defeat. The openers put on 73 runs in the powerplay itself. It was Tajiul Islam who broke the opening stand of 88 runs that came off 52 balls. Kumar Sangakkara was the man dismissed after scoring 30 off 24 balls in the 9^th over.

Skipper Shakib Al Hasan walked in to join Maruf in the middle. Meanwhile, Maruf raced past his fifty to looked in commanding position as Dynamites crossed the 100-run mark. He continued to play his risk-free shots. Shakib’s 23-ball 20 came to an end in the 15^th over when Monir Hossain cleaned him up. Mosaddek Hossain Saikat was the next batsman at the crease with just 13 runs needed.

Maruf’s unbeaten 45-ball 75 saw Dhaka Dynamites cruise past the total in the 16th over. His knock was embellished with 5 fours and 5 sixes. The Barisal bowlers had absolutely no answer to the hitting of Maruf on the day as they succumbed to an 8 wicket defeat.

Brief Scores:

Barisal Bulls 148/6 in 20 overs (Nafees 55, Rahim 50*, Shahid 3/21, Bopara 1/23)

Dhaka Dynamites 149/2 in 16 overs (Maruf 75*, Sangakkara 30, Islam 1/14, Hossain 1/23)