BPL 2015 First Qualifier: Comilla Victorians Vs Rangpur Royals Played at SBNCS Dhaka 12 December 2015
Comilla Victorians 163 /7 (Imrul Kayes 67, Ashar Zaidi 40*, NLTC Pererra 5/26) beat Rangpur Riders 91 All Out (LMP Simmons 25, Ashar Zaidi 4/11, Abu Haidar 4/19) by 72 Runs.
Player of the Match: Abu Haidar (Comilla Victorians)
Never Say Die spirited Mashrafe inspired Comilla Victorians stormed into the final pulverizing strong Riders in to pulp in an absolutely one sided match. Bangladesh icon won the first two version of BPL as captain and now again in third he is again in charge of a team, which will again have a serious crack at the trophy.
Not 100% enigmatic leader defied his physical handicaps, bowled with control in shortened spell and used his resources very smartly in leading his charge win huge by 72 runs. Riders were bundled out for only 91 responding to Victorians impressive score of 163/7.
Imrul Kayes batted aggressively at the top, reliable Zaidi played another blinder of an innings as finisher in setting a challenging target. When Riders chased Al Amin and Zaidi destroyed them with very high quality bowling. Victorians raced into the final and loser Riders will now play Bulls today to qualify for the finals.
Mashrafe is carrying a Grade -1 right hamstring tear. 99 % cricketer in such situation won’t risk playing. He not only played but bowling at shirt run up he got 1 wicket giving away only 13 run in his 4 overs. We know he is irresistible.
We know even if he has to play with one leg he will do that. But if he is really not match fit he better not play. We hope BCB would look into the matter as he is a prized possession of Bangladesh team at the moment. Bangladesh cannot afford to lose him.
The match of the two top dogs of BPL 2015 was expected to create moth watering contest. But unfortunately Riders failed miserably and were hardly in the contest excepting Sri Lankan pacer NLTC Pererra appearing with brilliant bowling performance of 5/26. As a very rare case, Shakib and Sunny bowled poorly. Shakib also had a nightmarish appearance with the bat scoring a duck.
Victorians was given a rollicking start by Bangladesh internationals Imrul Kayes and Liton das. The opening partnership produced 79 in 10 overs before edgy Liton fell to Saqlain Sajib for 28. Kayes played a brilliant innings of 67 in 48 deliveries smashing 7 fours and 2 sixes.
Unfortunately the middle order collapsed encountering deadly accurate Perera. Little known Pakistani Englishman Ashar Zaidi again played a blinder. His unbeaten 40 in only 15 deliveries led Victorians post an impressive score of 163 /7.
Perera alone took 5/26. Unfortunately Shakib, Sunny had rare off day. Shakib leaked 42 runs in his 4 overs.
The Riders response was pathetic. They appeared in a hurry .Young Soumya again batted poorly. After being dropped of the bowling of Abu Haidar he got out the very next bowl.
It is time someone have good counseling with Soumya. He is getting out in similar fashion all the time these days. Simmons played some good strokes but he too was cleaned up by Abu Haidar soon.
In such a big match, the leading all-rounder Shakib was expected to deliver with the bat especially after his dismal performance with the ball. He played a highly irresponsible stroke and perished scoring a Golden Duck.
Zaidi struck two blows on consecutive deliveries. At 45/4 Riders were already in the hole. Mashrafe bowled 4 very tight overs at this stage and also removed Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi.
It is only possible for a person like Mashrafe only to play and appear with such a performance defying his physical condition. Haidar (4/19) and Zaidi (4/11) combination went on crashing Riders to a humiliating 72 runs defeat.
Victorians deservedly qualified for the finals. Theirs is rejuvenated unit always playing for each other. Very few knew about Abu Haidar and Zaidi before the tournament started. But they have already turned heroes.
Haidar is now the leading wicket taker with 21 wickets. Zaidi is the leading all-rounder in the tournament. What can be written about their battle commander Mashrafe? We will be really surprised if Mashrafe do not lift the trophy once again.
Riders getting shot out for 91 only were an anti-climax. In such a contest players with good reputation failing at the same time almost in similar fashion can caused doubts and confusions.
It will not be easy for them to regroup and face a high flying Bulls today again in the second qualifier match absorbing the battering they got yesterday.
BDST: 09 HRS, DEC 12, 2015
RS
