BPL 2017, Match 26 Review: Chittagong Vikings outfox Sylhet Sixers

Sylhet Sixers started off their trophy conquest at the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) with a flourish, winning back to back matches and consolidating themselves at the pinnacle of the points table. However, the last few matches have not gone their way and they’ve found themselves slipping unceremoniously down the rankings ladder.

Chittagong Vikings, who’ve been deposited at the bottom of the rankings for quite some time now like silt at the depths of a river, came back into the game as they clinched a one-sided encounter against the Sylhet team.

Having won the toss, Sylhet captain Nasir Hossain chose to bowl first at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong. Chittagong opener, Luke Ronchi have his team just the quickfire start they would’ve wanted with a knock of 41 runs off just 25 balls.

Although his compatriots, Soumya Sarkar and Anamul Haque fell cheaply for just a run and three respectively, Ronchi went on with this stroke-making. Stiaan van Zyl (40) held the other end as the duo stitched together a good partnership. Bowler Abul Hasan must have thanked his stars as he got Ronchi out on the first delivery of the eight over with a short and wide delivery. But his woes were just about to begin!

Sikandar Raza plays a blinder

In came Zimbabwe batsman, Sikandar Raza. The right-hand batsman survived a scare early on when he was almost caught out by opposition skipper. From there on, there was no stopping Raza. He smashed the ball out of the park and hit boundaries at will to compile 95 runs off just 45 deliveries, comprising 9 boundaries and 6 sixers. His magnificent innings came to an end in the last over of the match off the bowling of Kamrul Islam but the damage had been done. Chittagong finished their innings with a formidable score of 211 on the board. Sylhet bowlers fared averagely in their area of prowess, with Islam being the lone bright spot as he picked up 2 wickets for 35 runs in his quota of 4 overs.

Sylhet Sixers started off their innings with panache as opener, Andre Fetcher (71) and number 3 batsman, Babar Azam (41) compiled a hefty partnership that was enough to give indication of a tight chase to come. But, that was not to be. In spite of Fletcher’s dazzling array of shots to hit 4 sixers and 8 boundaries, he was picked up by Taskin Ahmed and the catch was taken by none other than Sikandar Raza. Azam was dismissed soon after by Stiaan van Zyl, robbing Sylhet’s hope one wicket at a time.

The middle-order fell like a pack of dominoes with none of the batsman being able to survive even 5 balls. Although keeper, Nurul Hasan tried to add some quick runs in the latter part of the innings, the situation had spun out way beyond repair or control. Pacer, Taskin Ahmed aided his team by a stellar display of bowling as he picked up 3 wickets at an economy of 7.8. Soumya Sarkar and van Zyl dismissed two opposition players each, helping his team on to the path of victory. Chittagong Vikings ended the match with a significant victory margin of 40 runs, proving once again how unpredictable the game of Cricket can be!

Brief Scores:

Chittagong Vikings- 211/5 in 20.0 overs (Sikandar Raza 95; Kamrul Islam 2/35 in 4 overs)

Sylhet Sixers- 171/8 in 20 overs (Andre Fletcher 71; Taskin Ahmed 3/31 in 4 overs)

Player of the match- Sikandar Raza