BPL 3 Match 13 Review: Barisal Bulls v Chittagong Vikings, Bulls register a comprehensive win over the Vikings

The Barisal Bulls, continuing their habit of making brilliant comebacks, registered a comprehensive over Chittagong Vikings at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong. The Vikings won the toss and decided to bowl first. The young West Indian Evin Lewis was picked by the Bulls while Kamran Akmal got a chance in the Vikings’ starting lineup. Having put on 170/7, the Bulls were always in control of the match and eventually won it by 33 runs.

Lewis started the Chittagong innings with a cracking 4 on the 2nd ball of the first over however Tillakaratne Dilshan had him out LBW on the next delivery. The ball, bowled at a flatter trajectory, seemed to be heading down the leg side however Lewis didn’t help himself by playing on the back foot. Mohammad Amir had Rony Talukdar LBW in the next over and Shabbir Rahman failed to open his account as he was dismissed by Shafiul Islam in the same manner as the other two. At 13/3 from 3 overs skipper, Mahmudullah Riyad joined Mehedi Maruf and the two looked to rebuild. Maruf hit 2 sixes and 1 four before being out for 28 off 25 balls. The wicket of Nadif Chowdhury further pegged back the Bulls and they were struggling at 63/5 from 11.1 overs.

The Sri Lankan Seekkuge Prasanna changed the complexion of the innings with an attacking knock of 36 from 20 balls, smashing 1 four and 4 huge sixes. He gave his team the momentum it needed and also got them out of a difficult situation. Mahmudullah scored an important half-century and held the innings together with the help of singles and occasional boundaries. He made 51 off 45 balls with 3 fours and 1 six. Kevon Copper’s cameo (21* off 11) helped the Barisal outfit post a challenging total of 170/7 at the end of 20 overs. Mohammad Amir was the most successful bowler for the Chittagong outfit with a spell of 2/20 from 4 overs.

The Vikings lost their captain, Tamim Iqbal, in the 2nd over however Dilshan hit 3 fours in the same over and made his intentions clear. Kamran Akmal was run out of the first ball he attempted a single at mid-on however a superb direct hit from Copper proved fatal. Dilshan was dismissed for 19 off 12 by Taijul Islam and this proved a huge wicket as the Vikings never recovered after this. Al-Amin Hossain removed Anamul Haque while Copper sent Elton Chigumbura packing. The wicket of Ziaur Rahman brought Amir to the crease and he swung his bat a couple of times against Prasanna resulting in back-to-back sixes.

The target though was always going to be beyond the reach of the Vikings as they had lost 6 wickets by the end of 16 overs and still needed 70 more runs to win the match. Amir was dismissed by Cooper for 20 off 12 while Naeem Islam was cleaned up in the same over by the West Indian for a 38 off 40. Two wickets fell in the last over as the Vikings got bowled out for 137. Copper was adjudged the man-of-the-match for his all-round contribution. His spell of 3/28 was the best amongst all bowlers.

Brief Scores:     

Barisal Bulls 170/7 in 20 overs (Mahmudullah 51; M Amir 2/20)

Chittagong Vikings 137 in 19.5 overs (N Islam 38; K Cooper 3/28)

Man of the Match: Kevon Cooper (Barisal Bulls)