BPL 4, Match 33, Review: Tamim leads from the front as Chittagong Vikings steamroll the Titans

Khulna Titans have emerged as a very strong unit despite their slow start. The Chittagong Vikings have been inconsistent yet effective in staying in the top four in the points table. The two sides locked horns in the 33rd match of the season. A win for the Khulna Titans would have taken them to the top of the points table. The Vikings had an opportunity to escalate to number 3 with a win in the encounter.

Mahmudullah was all smiles when he won the toss for Khulna Titans and opted to bat first. With Kevon Cooper back to the side, they had a decent balance in the playing eleven. The Chittagong Vikings banked on the heavyweight batsman Chris Gayle. Gayle had announced himself in style in the last match that he played.

Coming into the match, Riki Wessels and Taibur Rahman opened the innings for Khulna Titans. Mohammad Nabi was given the new ball and the Afghan national struck in his first over. He dismissed Taibur (1) on the fifth ball of the innings. Saqlain Sajib and Subashis Roy struck in their respective first overs too. Sajib sent the veteran batsman Alok Kapali (3) and Roy accounted for dismissing Shuvagata Hom (2).

The Khulna Titans were rocked early with 3 quick wickets. At 14/3 in 3.3 overs, they needed to rebuild the innings. Skipper Mahmudullah joined Wessels at the crease. Just when things started to work for the Titans, Imran Khan struck in the last over of the powerplay. Wessels departed after scoring 20 off 16 balls.

Ariful Haque came in at number 6. He put up a decent 44 run stand for the 5th wicket with Mahmudullah in 47 balls. The pitch looked on the slower side and the runs were hard to come by. The partnership was broken kudos to a run out by Imran Khan that sent Ariful packing on 18 (20).

Despite Mahmudullah holding the fort at one end, the innings never kicked off. Wickets kept tumbling and even the skipper perished in the 15th over. Mahmudullah’s 42 came in 39 balls with 4 fours and a six. His efforts saw Khulna Titans finish with 131/8 in their 20 overs. Imran Khan and Taskin Ahmed bagged 2 wickets each.

The successful opening duo of Tamim Iqbal and Chris Gayle walked in to the middle. A lot of fireworks was expected and Gayle gave a glimmer of hope with a six to his name straight away. He looked threatening in his brief 11-ball stay that earned him 19 runs. Shuvagata struck with his spin to send the big Jamaican back to the dugout.

The Chittagong Vikings stood comfortably at 39/1 in 4.1 overs after his departure. They added 9 more to end with 48 in their powerplay. However, three quick wickets including two run outs saw the Vikings struggle at 64/4 in 10.3 overs.

The good thing for the Chittagong Vikings was the presence of Tamim Iqbal at one end. He kept the scorecard ticking. He was well supported by Jahurul Islam in the middle over. Jahurul scored 22 off 18 balls before being dismissed by Kevon Cooper in the 16th over. Meanwhile, Tamim brought up another fifty this season as Chittagong Vikings cruised towards the victory.

Mohammad Nabi arrived at the departure of Jahurul. He took very little time to finish things off. With 2 fours and a six, he finished with an unbeaten 17 off 8 balls to see Chittagong Vikings win by 5 wickets. Tamim led from the front with an unbeaten 66 off 59 balls (8 fours, 1 six) to seize it for the Vikings.

Brief Scores:

Khulna Titans: 131/8 in 20 overs (Mahmudullah 42, Wessels 20, Imran 2/16, Taskin 2/28)

Chittagong Vikings: 135/5 in 18.4 overs (Tamim 66*, Jahurul 22, Shuvagata 1/7, Cooper 1/18)