BPL 3 Match 16 Review: Barisal Bulls v Dhaka Dynamites, Evin Lewis destroys Dynamites as Bulls win without any hassle

BPL 3 Match 16 Review: Barisal Bulls v Dhaka Dynamites, Evin Lewis destroys Dynamites as Bulls win without any hassle: Kumar Sangakkara and Shykat Ali opened the innings for Dhaka Dynamites after they were put to bat by Barisal Bulls skipper Riyad Mahamudullah. From the very first over, run-scoring looked tough on this pitch as easy singles and boundaries were hard to come by. But, both the openers remained steady and kept the runs flowing until Kevon Cooper took the first wicket of the match. Shykat (15 runs from 16 balls) was the first man to go. Thirimanne walked in next. But, off-spinner Mahmudullah foxed Thirimanne with a perfect off break. It was a nicely flighted delivery which turned sufficiently to beat Thirimanne who tried to step out of the crease and attack. The Sri Lanka duo could just add 21 runs.

The next over saw Nasir Hossain depart off the bowling of part-time leg-spinner S. Prasanna. Abul Hasan also could not bat along Sangakkara for very long as he was also dismissed shortly in the 11th over by Prasanna. The Dynamites innings was only half way through the 20 overs, but wickets had already begun to fall from one end regularly. But, Sanga looked defiant. And, fortunately for the Dynamites, Ryan ten Doeschate batted sensibly with the Sri Lankan veteran and helped them sail ahead in the game. Both anchored the struggling Dhaka Dynamites innings with a 59 runs partnership.

In the 18th, over Sangakkara’s brilliant innings was finally brought to an end by Kevon Cooper. Sanga had done his job. Doeschate and Waller finished the Dynamites innings in style by smacking 24 runs in the last two overs. With the help of Ryan ten Doeschate’s valuable 45 runs from 32 balls and Sanga’s crucial knock, the Dhaka Dynamites reached 158/5 at the end of the 20th over.

The target was set for Barisal Bulls, but the pitch looked tough when the Dynamites were batting. However, when the Barisal Bulls openers Rony Talukdar and Evin Lewis started the proceeding for the Bulls, everything suddenly began to look very easy from the batsman’s point of view.

Both the openers quickly gained an upper hand over the Dynamites’ bowlers and did not let them breathe easy at all. The willows of both the batsmen talked mostly in boundaries and sixes. Especially, Lewis, who was the most aggressive of the batting pair. Together they put on a mighty 127 runs partnership for the first wicket before Rony Talukdar (38 from 34 balls) lost his wicket to Abul Hasan. This batting pair was not only involved in an entertaining partnership but also rubbished the fact that the pitch was tough to bat.

Sangakkara tried seven bowlers in this match, but no one was effective as Evin Lewis took the game away from them without even giving any chance to crawl back. There was no further drama in the chase as Mehedi Maruf (13 runs from 13 balls) stuck in with Lewis till the end and finished off the work as Bulls registered a superb 9 wickets win.

All the hard work for Evin Lewis paid off when the Bulls needed just 5 runs required to win the match. He nudged a single on the leg side and completed a highly deserving century. It was the first century of BPL 3.

Honestly, it was Evin Lewis’ match today. He was solely responsible for the Dhaka Dynamites’ misery today. Dhaka had no chance at any point of the match. The Man of the Match achieved another special feat after he completed 1000 runs in his T20 career when he was just three runs away from his century. Also, with this win, Barisal Bulls claim the top spot in the points table.

Brief Scores:

Dhaka Dynamites- 158/5 in 20 overs (Kumara Sangakkara 60; Seekuge Prasanna 2/23)

Barisal Bulls- 159/1 in 18.4 overs (Evin Lewis 101; Abul Hasan 1/22)