Holders Comilla Victorians registered their first victory in the Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 2023 when they beat hosts Chattogram Challengers by six wickets at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium Monday. After three straight losses, the Victorians finally tasted victory, chasing down the Challengers' 135/8 with 15 balls to spare; opener Liton Das top-scoring with a 22-ball 40, featuring four fours and three sixes. Pakistani opener Mohammad Rizwan was not out on a 35-ball 37 as Comilla breathed life into their campaign.
The home side earlier posted 135 batting first, captain Shuvagata Hom lending respectability to the total with a 23-ball 37, with four fours and a six. Imad, Haris help make it five in a row for Sylhet Sylhet Strikers overcame a spirited Dhaka Dominators in a low-scoring affair, securing a five-wicket win in their first match of the Chittagong phase.
After restricting Dhaka to a paltry 128/7, Sylhet, without the services of their best batter Towhid Hridoy due to injury, struggled a bit but finally overhauled the target with four balls to spare, making 134/5. Their Pakistani recruits Imad Wasim and Mohammad Haris were instrumental behind the victory, reports BSS. While Imad claimed 3/20 to rip through Dhaka's batting line-up, Haris played a 32-ball 44-run knock to help them knock off the target after a shaky start.
Haris hit five fours and two sixes in his knock and kept the scoreboard rotating when fellow opener Nazmul Hossain Shanto was dismissed cheaply, making 12 off 20. Zakir Hasan, promoted to No 3 in the absence of the in-form Hridoy, was out for one but Haris' fluent knock meant Sylhet kept the asking run rate under control. And it gave Sylhet an edge after the middle-order was strangled by a fiery Taskin Ahmed. Both Mushfiqur Rahim and Imad failed to score quickly, leaving Sylhet in troublesome situation. Mushfiq's 25 runs came off 27 balls while Imad made 11 off 20. It was Thisara Perera who showed some urgency and helped the side get over the line with an unbeaten 11-ball 21 that featured two fours and one six. Taskin, who scalped one wicket, gave away just 12 runs in four overs and hit 140km-plus pace regularly to trouble the batters. Dhaka captain Nasir Hossain also bowled well, taking 2/19 after his 39 steered Dhaka close to 130-run mark, which at one phase looked unlikely. Coming to bat at No 6 position, Nasir struck 39 from 31 balls, hitting three fours and one six after his side were five down for 74 runs in 14 overs. The biggest disappointment of Dhaka was Soumya Sarkar who still struggled to find his rhythm and was dismissed for a duck. Opener Usman Ghani was the other notable scorer with 27 while Ariful Haque made 20.
Source: Dhaka Tribune