BPL 3 Match 14 Review: Comilla Victorians v Sylhet Super Stars, Sylhet end the drought with an thrilling win

It was a contest between the table toppers and the bottom ranked team in the points table. Comilla Victorians met the Sylhet Superstars in the 14th match of BPL 3. Sylhet skipper Mushfiqur Rahim made the right call at the toss and opted to field first. Comilla Victorians were playing without the West Indies pair of Marlon Samuels, who had left for the Australia tour and Sunil Narine, who was suspended for illegal action. Obviously, it was a major blow to their plans as both the players were an important part of the batting as well as the bowling attack.

Victoria batsman Liton Das lit the things around when began to hammer the Sylhet bowlers from the first over. However, Ravi Bopara got better of him in his very first over the spell. Liton played a breezy knock of 42 from 24 deliveries. One over later, Bopara again gave a twin blow to Sylhet after he sent Mukhtar Ahmed and Shuvagata Hom in a space of one delivery in the same over.

However, Imrul Kayes and Ashar Zaidi took thing forward for the Victorians. Both shared a vital 62 runs partnership. But, it was finally broken by none other than Ravi Bopara. Imrul Kayes (48 from 45 balls) mistimed a slog and Nazmul Hossain Milon, after misjudging the catch finally managed to get hold of the ball and took a fantastic catch and put an end to a brilliant partnership. But, Ashar Zaidi continued his brilliant performance and completed his half century. Zaidi (53 from 36 balls), along with captain Mashrafe Mortaza (10 from 7 balls) took the overall Victorians’ score to 164. Ravi Bopara (4/18) performed extremely well and threatened to take the game away from the Victorians. Incidentally, he was the only wicket taker in the Sylhet bowling attack today.

The target was set for the Sylhet Superstars to chase. They were just 164 runs away from registering their first victory this season and open their account in the point table. In the absence of Sunil Narine, the Victorians’ bowling attack had suffered a heavy dent.

Dilshan Munaweera and Mominul Haque came out to begin the task of chasing the challenging target. Both gave a decent start before Abu Hider, in the 6th over, managed to get an edge off Mominul Haque’s bat which was safely collected by the wicket keeper. Both batsmen were batting comfortably, but the partnership was brought to a halt before it could flourish.

Munaweera kept his attacking mode on, smashing a boundary and a six of the very next over by Sunzamul Islam. But, Abu Hider got another breakthrough of the big fish Dilshan Munaweera (36 from 26 balls). However, Ravi Bopara and Mushfiqur Rahim showed sturdiness and shared an important partnership of 87 runs. Both played aggressively at a strike rate of above 140. The match, however, could have still shifted its balance to either side as the Victorians’ bowlers kept bowling tight.

26 runs were still required from 19 balls. But, Sylhet suffered a setback at the wrong time. Nuwan Kulasekara struck a vital blow. Mushfiqur, who looked very steady, tried to make some room, but a full and straighter delivery from Kulasekara beat his bat and shattered the stumps. This dismissal brought an end to the 87-run partnership which came off just 57 balls. The task looked very tough as 26 runs were required off the last 3 overs. However, Hammad Azam, the next batsman who came to bat, blasted a six and a boundary in the last three ball of Santokie’s over.

The Sylhet Super Stars required only 11 runs off the last 12 balls. The game was alive and so were the Sylhet’s hopes of winning the game. Bopara was still dangerously floating around and Azam was able to connect the ball very well. Kulasekara began the 19th over, Bopara and Azam took singles off the first three balls. But, Azam, who was at the strike, could not hit the ball cleanly and lost his wicket in a quest to finish the chase early. This wicket did not affect Bopara as he collected two doubles off the last two deliveries to make it 4 runs off the last over.

The match now looked very simple. With the well set Ravi Bopara still at the crease, it seemed as if the match had reached its conclusion. However, the last over was little dramatic and made the Sylhet side sweat a little before they could finally leave a sigh of relief.

4 runs were needed now in the last over. Rony Talukdar nearly made a mess of Ravi Bopara’s efforts when he claimed two wickets in two consecutive balls. The first to fall was the Bopara himself after a match-winning knock of 50 off just 37 balls. Rony made everybody bite their nails in excitement after he took another wicket off the next delivery. There were two new batsmen at the crease and Rony was on a hattrick. But, Nazmul Hossain Milon took care of the fact that there was no twist in the climax. He slapped the hat-trick ball straight over the long-off area for a huge six and finished the game in a straightforward manner.

It would have been very cruel for the Sylhet Super Stars team if it had ended in a loss for them. But, the Englishman’s all-round performance ensured that Sylhet tasted its first success of the BPL. Victorians have to digest this loss and look forward win their next match. The bowling efforts of Nuwan Kulasekara (2/31) and Rony Talukdar (4/28) went in vain. It was a very decent performance from them, but the day belonged to Ravi Bopara and the Sylhet Super Stars.

Brief Scores:

Comilla Victorians – 164/5 in 20 overs ( Ashar Zaidi 53; Ravi Bopara 4/18)

Sylhet Super Stars – 168/6 in 19.4 overs (Ravi Bopara 50; Rony Talukdar 4/28)

Man of the Match: Ravi Bopara (Sylhet Super Stars)