BPL 4, Match 22, Review: Comilla Victorians suffer another defeat at the hands of Chittagong Vikings

The stage was set for the rematch of the opening encounter of the season. Comilla Victorians had a great opportunity to settle scores with Chittagong Vikings. When the two sides had met in the first match of the season, it was Chittagong who emerged on top on that occasion. The Vikings have had a mixed season thus far.

On the other hand, the defending champions Comilla Victorians, have had a horrid run this season. They lost their first 5 matches before eventually winning their last encounter. The confidence and morale was slightly higher for the Mashrafe Mortaza-led Comilla Victorians after their last win. The Victorians continued with the same line after having elected to bat first.

The Chittagong Vikings, too, went in with the same overseas combination as well. Nazmul Hossain Shanto was promoted up the order to open the innings for Victorians alongside Khalid Latif. They both looked settled at the top order until the 5th over when Taskin Ahmed drew first blood for the Vikings. Shanto had to depart after scoring 17 off 15 balls.

Imrul Kayes joined Khalid Latif at the crease. With 46 runs on the board, the Victorians looked settled for a late launch. Kayes and Latif added 68 for the 2nd wicket to put Comilla Victorians in a commanding position. A horrible mix-up saw Imrul Kayes run out by Tamim Iqbal on 36 off 26 balls. Pakistani batsmen Ahmed Shehzad walked to the crease. Shehzad had a very mild BPL thus far. He had a point to prove. He had the support of Latif and that worked for the Victorians.

They add a quick 70 off just 41 balls for the 3rd wicket to take their side past the 150-run mark. In the process, Latif brought up a very well-paced half-century. It was another run out, this time Anamul Haque, that broke the partnership. Latif was dismissed on 76 off 53 balls with 6 fours and 5 sixes. An unbeaten 40 off 25 balls by Ahmed Shehzad and a tall six by Ryan ten Doeschate towards the end saw Comilla Victorians post 183/3 in their 20 overs.

The Chittagong Vikings made a decent start to their marathon run chase. Both openers Tamim Iqbal and Dwayne Smith got starts to keep the ship sailing. Smith’s quickfire 21 off 12 balls was laced with 5 boundaries. He was caught plumb by Mortaza in the 3rd over. Wicket-keeper batsman Anamul Haque joined skipper Tamim at the crease.

Kudos to Smith’s early onslaught, the Vikings added 55 in the powerplay. A decent partnership between Tamim and Anamul thereafter saw Vikings have a firm control on the run chase. With no risky shots and all calculative stroke play, they added 62 runs off 43 balls for the 2nd wicket.

Ryan ten Doeschate got through the defenses of both Tamim and Anamul in the 10th and 12th over respectively. Anamul’s 40 came off 30 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes. Tamim’s patient 30 came off 27 balls with a six and a four. Shoaib Malik was joined by in-form batsman Mohammad Nabi to carry forward the run chase. The veteran duo another vital 64 runs to steer Chittagong Vikings close to the target.

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Sohail Tanvir got rid of his Pakistan team-mate Malik in the penultimate over. Malik scored a brisk 38 off 25 balls before being dismissed. It was Mohammad Nabi yet again, who won the match for the Chittagong Vikings. Nabi’s unbeaten 46 came off just 24 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes as Vikings chased down the total with 6 wickets in hand and 4 balls to spare.

Brief Scores:

Comilla Victorians 183/3 in 20 overs (Latif 76, Shehzad 40*, Taskin 1/44)

Chittagong Vikings  186/4 in 19.2 overs (Nabi 46*, Haque 40, ten Doeschate 2/15, Tanvir 1/33)