BPL 3 Match 8 Review: Barisal Bulls v Comilla Victorians, Victorians’ post a commanding win over Bulls

BPL 3 Match 8 Review: Barisal Bulls v Comilla Victorians, Victorians’ post a commanding win over Bulls: Blame it on the pitches or the substandard batsmanship, looks as if the cricket fans will be deprived of high-scoring matches in the BPL 3. Barisal Bulls, playing their third consecutive match today and played in the same disappointing manner like they did in the two previous matches. However, luck did not favor them in the same manner in this match, as it did for them in the last two days.

Starting out, Bulls won the toss and put Victorians to field at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium. The Bulls came out to bat and the scenes were no different. Opener Shahriar Nafees and Brendan Taylor were packed up by Nuwan Kulasekara in the second over of the match which was also a wicket maiden. These two quick wickets were enough to strangle their innings as they began to score runs at snail’s pace.

There were no heroics from skipper Mahmudullah (9 runs from 13 balls) as Bulls were simmered down to 27/3 in the 7th over of the match. He was bowled by Abu Hider with a superb yorker which beat him with swing and crashed into the middle stump. Rony Talukdar (17 runs from 22 balls) also followed his skipper in a short span of time. He also fell to Abu Hider.

Pakistan-born British cricketer Ashar Zaidi put the brakes on the middle order. The left arm spinner was on a hat-trick in the 12th over of the match when he picked up the wickets of Sabbir Rahman (10 runs from 13 balls) and S Prasanna off back to back deliveries. Rahman tried to hit across a low delivery, but all he managed to get was an under edge which was safely collected by the wicketkeeper.

Seekuge Prasanna’s wicket was a gift considering the fact that there were still more than nine overs left to bat for them. He attempted to mindlessly hit a slog off a flighted ball only to get caught at long-on. It was a double delight for Zaidi. Bulls were now tottering at 49/6 and looked hopeless in their act.

Nothing was expected from the tail enders after the top order batsmen disappointed. They could not add anything. The only bright spot was bowling all-rounder Kevon Cooper’s innings of 22 runs from 21 balls. Nadif Chowdhury (7 runs from 15 balls) tried to hang around but was cleaned up by Abu Hider. Taijul Islam was run-out while M. Sami was bowled by Sunil Narine as Bulls’ innings was wrapped up at a measly score of 89.

In reply, the Victorians’ opening pair of Imrul Kayes and Mahmudul Hasan came out to bat. It was a total they came out to chase with a relaxed mind. Both openers scored in singles and doubles and hit a couple of boundaries as the Victorians’ innings was flowing smoothly. However, after starting off steadily, Imrul Kayes (13 runs from 14 balls) lost his patience as he could not control his aggression. He offered a simple catch to Sabbir Rahman off the bowling of last match’s hero Al-Amin Hossain. But, Mahmudul kept batting positively and kept the run rate healthy while Marlon Samuels also settled in and provided him the support. The chase was comfortably set as Victorian’ needed only 37 from the last ten overs.

But, Mahmudul (31 runs from 43 balls) showed his immaturity after he mistimed a shot and was caught by Mahmudullah at covers. The partnership was finally broken. However, it did not affect the chase in any way as Shuvagata Hom and the well-set Marlon Samuels. Both batted with no trouble and chased down the target in 18 overs with 8 wickets in hand.

There was no contest between the two teams today. It was largely a one-sided match in which the Victorians’ held command over the Bulls. Bulls really need to find some solutions to their batting woes if they want mileage in the tournament. BB had defended a small total of 109 runs in a thriller last night. But, the total tonight was very tiny to defend. Meanwhile, on the other hand, the Victorians’ would be highly satisfied with their all-round performance today. Also, with this win, the Victorians’ have moved upwards in the points table ahead of Bulls due to the advantage of a higher net run rate.

Brief Scores

Barisal Bulls – 89 all out in 18.3 (Kevon Cooper 22; Nuwan Kulasekara 3/8)

Comilla Victorians – 90/2 in 18 overs (Mahmudul Hasan 31; Kevon Cooper 1/7)

Man of the Match – Nuwan Kulasekara (Comilla Victorians)