BPL 2019-20: Match 35, Review- Dawid Malan, Soumya Sarkar keep Cumilla Warriors in race for playoffs

The Cumilla Warriors kept their hopes alive of qualifying for the playoffs of the Bangabandhu BPL 2019-20. The Dawid Malan-led unit beat the Sylhet Thunder by five wickets at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium. With the victory, the Warriors are now level with Khulna Tigers with 10 points. From how the tournament has progressed, Khulna and Warriors seem to fight for the fourth spot.

Mazid shepherds the Thunder

The Warriors, after winning the toss, didn’t allow the Thunder’s batters to get away. Andre Fletcher had a painful vigil, scoring 22 at a strike-rate off 88. Johnson Charles was starting to put his foot down the paddle with a 15-ball 26 before Al-Amin Hossain nipped him out. Mohammad Mithun couldn’t up the ante as well as he scored 18 off 25 after which Mujeeb Ur Rahman nipped him out.

At the other end, Abdul Mazid didn’t give his wicket away, though he wasn’t getting a whole lot of runs. He held his ground until the very last over and scored 45 off 40 with a couple of fours and a six. At a time when things tended to go a tad haywire for the Thunder, Jeevan Mendis came out firing on all cylinders. The left hander churned out 23 off 11 and took his team to a respectable 141 for five.

Malan and Soumya take charge

The Warriors got off to a rather jittery start in their run-chase. They could only muster 16 runs in the powerplay. To their misery, they lost both their openers, Fardeen Hasan Only and Upul Tharanga to off-spinner Nayeem Hasan. The required rate had touched nine by then and pressure was on the Warriors to step on the gas. Thereafter, Dawid Malan (58) and Soumya Sarkar (48*) stepped up.

Malan got to his fifty off 44 balls after a steady start. But Ebadot Hossain removed him to give the Thunders some hope. David Wiese played a cameo of 13 off eight before Charles castled him. Meanwhile, Sarkar didn’t let any sort of panic sneak in. He got to his half-century with a lofted drive over the covers. The southpaw stayed unbeaten on 55 off 30 and saw the Warriors through to a win.

Brief Scores

Sylhet Thunder: 141/5 in 20 overs (Abdul Mazid 45, Johnson Charles 26; Al-Amin Hossain 2/30)

Cumilla Warriors: 142/5 in 19.1 overs (Dawid Malan 58, Soumya Sarkar 55*; Nayeem Hasan 3/21)

Cumilla Warriors win by five wickets.