A team that had little hopes of going all the way on paper at the start of the tournament ended up becoming champions. Understandably, Comilla Victorians players and the supporters are ecstatic with the achievements of the team.

Nafisa Kamal, the owner of the the team earlier mentioned that her team would celebrate in grand style if they become champions. Indeed she kept her words and organized a massive party for the team on Tuesday evening at BICC. All the local players, associated staff and the media were present at the occasion.

The program began at 7:30 pm. The former ICC vice president and BCB president AHM Mustafa Kamal presented crests to Mashrafe Mortaza and all the other Comilla Victorians cricketers for their outstanding performances in the third edition of BPL.

“We have achieved way more than we expected. Although some say we were not the best team, I would say we were not a team to be ranked last either. We had an inspirational captain like Mashrafe and players like Imrul. Excellent team effort, and the collaboration of the coach and the captain has made it possible for us to become champions. We had no other options other than winning, if you look at the commitment of Mashrafe throughout the tournament. I would like to thank BCB for organizing such a wonderful tournament,” said AHM Mustafa Kamal.

Mashrafe Mortaza-led Comilla Victorians were crowned the champions of the 2015 Bangladesh Premier League after their tense three-wicket win against Barisal Burners in the final in Dhaka on Tuesday. 

Put into bat, Barisal stuttered at the half-way point and it needed an 81-run partnership between Mahmudullah (48) and Shahriar Nafees (44) to boost them to a good score. After 20 overs, they finished up 156/4, a good total on a sluggish pitch. For Comilla, Ashar Zaidi was the pick of the bowlers with 1/26.

In response, Comilla started off well with Imrul Kayes notching up a fifty and his 54-run stand with Ahmed Shehzad put them on course. However, with the departure of Shehzad, the innings stuttered and Kayes was down with hamstring problems. With seven overs to go, the asking rate mounted to nine.

However, Alok Kapali hung in and guided the team at the death. He struck two fours in the 18th over bowled by Kevon Cooper as the equation bowled down to 13 off the last over. Kapali followed it up with two more boundaries off Mohammad Sami and he sealed the match in dramatic style when he flicked a full toss to short fine leg to seal the win for Comilla.

This was the first time that the Bangladesh Premier League was played after a break of one year. Comilla Victorians, the new team to emerge out of a revamped tournament, proved to be fitting winners.

Source: NDTV

The Comilla Victorians were crowned champions of the Bangladesh Premier League 2015 after they registered a stirring 3-wicket victory over the Barisal Bulls in the title clash at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka.

Alok Kapali was the hero in the end after his cameo of 39 runs from 28 deliveries helped the Victorians snatch the victory off the grip of Bulls and helped his team lift the BPL 3 title trophy. Initially, Kapali did not look very threatening and was hardly playing like it was a chase, but he pushed the accelerator at the right time and turned the game upside down in the favor of the Victorians.

After being put into bat, Barisal Bull were pushed on the backfoot in the third over when Mehedi Mahruf was dismissed LBW by Ashar Zaidi. Seekugge Prasanna and Sabbir Rahman added some runs and shared 35 runs partnership between them before S. Prasanna was clean bowled by Darren Stevens. Sabbir Rahman also departed after a while attempting a senseless shot off a length delivery from Mashrafe Mortaza only to get bowled out in the end. However, the reliable pair of Shahriar Nafees and skipper Riyad Mahmudullah snatched the momentum back in a spectacular way, building a solid partnership of 81 runs between them.

Both batsmen kept themselves busy with singles and doubles and also kept finding the fence regularly. Both the batsmen carried on until the second last ball of the first innings until Mahmudullah lost his wicket to Nuwan Kulasekara. Nafees had scored 44 of 31 balls with the help of three sixes and two boundaries and Mahmudullah raced to 48 from 36 balls which included six boundaries and 1 hit over the fence. Barisal Bulls finished their innings at 156/4 in 20 overs.

Mortaza used six bowlers overall with Zaidi, Kulasekara, Stevens picking one wicket each. Mortaza also managed a wicket.

The target was not very dominating and was achievable by modern standards. However, their task suffered the first blow when opener Liton Das perished in the third over as he gave a simple return catch to Mohammad Sami. The other half of the opening pair, Imrul Kayes, carried on his good form and in the company of Ahmed Shehzad counter-attacked the opposition bowlers.

The second-wicket pair added 54 runs. Ahmed Shehzad (30 runs from 24 balls) was going well but was dismissed in the 10th over when he failed to middle the ball while attempting a sweep against Mahmudullah and was caught at short fine leg by Rayad Emrit. The off-spinner struck for a second time in the next overs when he managed to dismiss Imrul Kayes. The left-hander made a fine 53 off 37 balls and hit six boundaries and three sixes in his stay at the crease.

65 runs were still required off 50 deliveries. The two new batsmen at the crease were Alok Kapali and Ashar Zaidi. Kapali played calmly while Zaidi began attacking. But, the Victorians suffered another setback after Zaidi was run-out by Mahmudullah in the 16th over.

The 18th over saw two wickets fall off consecutive deliveries. Darren Stevens stay at the crease was also short lived after he misread an off cutter by Kevon Cooper and gave a simple catch to Mahmudullah. Mashrafe Mortaza was run-out of the very first delivery he faced. The game was slowly slipping away from the hands of the Victorians.

But, there was an anti-climax to the situation. The Bulls had virtually sealed the game. 13 runs were needed off the last over of Mohammad Sami. Shuvagata Hom was also run-out off the first ball. But, this was the moment when Kapali stole the show by hitting consecutive boundaries and a double to equal the scores. Kapali successfully flicked a full toss on the leg side to complete the last single required to finish the game.

Mahmudullah Riyad and Kevon Cooper were the most successful of the Bulls’ bowlers, returning figures of 2 for 23 and 2/31 respectively. Mohammad Sami (1/24) was the other wicket-taker.

Brief Scores:

Barisal Bulls – 156/4 (Riyad Mahmudullah 48; Darren Stevens 1/19)

Comilla Victorians – 157/7 (Imrul Kayes 53; Mahmudullah 2/23)

Man of the Match: Alok Kapali

Player of the Tournament: Ashar Zaidi

-Source: CricTracker

In the players by choice selection Alok Kapali was the most neglected cricketer. No team has taken this experienced player. After lots of drama Comilla Vitorians has taken Alok. That Alok has become the hero of the final match! His brilliant innings of 39 runs from 28 balls led Comilla Victorians to win.

Alok’s outstanding innings not only helped Comilla to win the final, but also it has given us an exited final match. At the very last ball of the innings, Alok took the winning run and Comilla defeated Barisal by 3 wickets.

Once Comilla was needed 23 runs from 9 balls. The final match was about to lose at that moment. At that moment Alok was at the crease. Though he was trying to hit some scoring shots, but most of the time he missed. When his run was 18 from 21 balls he managed to hit several boundaries which helped his team decrease the difference between the number of balls and runs.

At that time his shots made people remember his previous innings which he played in the Bangladesh National team. But in this BPL Alok was totally uncertain! He didn’t get any team and became frustrated. Captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza then requested Comilla to take him in his team. At that time Rangpur Riders has become interested to take him. Even Alok practiced some days for Rangpur. But before starting the tournament Comilla has managed to take him at the very last moment. That Alok has become the hero of today’s final at last! did anyone ever imagine this?!

It was a cracker of a final at the Bangladesh Premier league third edition where the game swung like a pendulum till the last ball and eventually Comilla Victorians clinched a thrilling three wicket win over Barisal Bulls at the Sher-e-Bangla National stadium on Tuesday.

Alok Kapali played a match winning knock of 39 runs from 28 balls with five fours where he took 13 runs in the last over of Pakistani fast bowler Mohammad Sami to chased down the target after Barisal posted 156/4 in twenty overs on a full packed home of cricket.

But earlier Liton Kumar Das was out after scoring only three but Imrul smashed three boundaries to Al Amin and took 13 runs in the second over as he along with Pakistani Ahmed Shehzad added 54 runs in the second wicket.

West Indies all-rounder Kevon Cooper returned Shehzad after scoring thirty off 24 balls with three fours. Imrul however continued to punish the Barisal bowlers where the Meherpur lad struck two consecutive sixes to leg spinner Prasanna.

Barisal fought back with Mahmudullah picking up Imrul after a well-made 53 off 37 balls featuring three maximum and six fours while Ashar Zaidi walked in as Comilla were 92/3 in 11.4 overs.

And Zaidi who was looking good and scored 16 runs was run out brilliantly by Mahmudullah and the excitement came down the wire as Comilla required 29 runs in the last three overs.

“Mashrafe is a true leader. The way he builds up bonding with each and everyone of the team is just amazing. He is the captain of Bangladesh cricket team, one of the most popular faces of the game of cricket. Yet he is a so down-to-earth person. He behaves just like an elder brother with the youngsters. He is equally free with our foreign recruits as well. It’s a real great thing that helps to bridge good relationship and understanding between the players,” said the Comilla Coach.

Salahuddin also claims that when a man like Mashrafe is in the team, the job gets easier for a coach. “Boys listen to what Mashrafe has to say. It makes the job of the coach lot easier. The coach doesn’t need to motivate the players because Mashrafe in the person does it fantastically. Because of Mashrafe, our team has become so successful.”

The Comilla coach also described his personal bonding with Mashrafe, “I have a friendly relationship with him. I think having him in the team is our biggest advantage. On and off the field, everywhere is he a great human being. He doesn’t let anyone feel like being under any pressure, which allows them to play their natural game. I must say, he is one of the greatest leaders I have ever seen.”

It’s a popular opinion that it was nothing but the magical leadership of the Narail Express Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, which turned the entire destiny of the team on its head and led them to success. But the man Mashrafe himself doesn’t want to take the credit alone. He believes the success his team achieved so far has become possible not by the means of any individual brilliance but because of the collective effort from each and everyone related to the franchise.

Ahead of Tuesday’s final against Barisal Bulls, Mashrafe said, “I have tried to give my best service all the time. But it was tough time for me. It has been a long tiring year, I have some physical issues and that led me to mental stress as well. Overall it was not that easy to overcome all the pressures. Still I was trying my best all the time because that’s what I was meant to be doing here with my given role.”

“You can’t reach to success single handedly. I believe it has been a collective effort from everyone – from the team management, coaching staffs to the players. This achievement belongs to everyone. Had everyone not done their part accordingly, such success could not be achieved,” added Mashrafe.

Asked what he is expecting ahead of the final, Mashrafe opined, “Alhamdulillah things have so far gone in our way, we have been able to do what we wanted to. But the same goes as far as our opponents are concerned. And now it will be a do-or-die match for both the teams. But Insha Allah we are hopeful and positive. If we can remain this positive till the end, definitely the result will come in our favour.”

Comilla Victorians all-rounder and former Sussex player Ashar Zaidi has demanded an apology from Craig Overton after it emerged the promising English seamer had told him “go back to your own ... country” during a county match last season.

34-year-old Zaidi has been an integral of the Victorians in the Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 2015. He has scored 199 runs and took 16 wickets from 10 matches as Comilla will take the field for the BPL final tomorrow at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.

As first revealed by the Guardian, Overton, who came close to selection for England’s winter Test tour to South Africa, was reported to have made the remark to the Pakistan-born batsman by both the umpire Alex Wharf and the non-striking batsman Michael Yardy during Somerset’s four-day Division One match at Sussex in September.

Describing the incident, Zaidi, who did not hear the remark at the time, told the Telegraph: “When I heard what had happened [afterwards] I was fuming especially as that guy didn’t have the decency to come and apologise. At the next day’s play he didn’t look me in the eye and didn’t warm up with the rest of his team. He owes me an apology. I’ve played all over England and never experienced such racist behaviour. I’m not in a position to say if he was treated leniently, but I was very surprised. What he said was too much. It was surprising also as he played alongside Abdur Rehman at Somerset.”

Yorkshire’s head coach, Jason Gillespie, told the Guardian: “As a club we are not commenting but speaking personally, I would be surprised if the ECB didn’t look into this a bit further.”

Acting on the evidence from Yardy and Wharf, the ECB’s independent disciplinary panel controversially decided on a level one punishment for abusive language – rather than a level three for abuse related to “race or national origin”. Overton incurred an automatic two-match ban because of two previous minor offences on his record. 

Barisal Bulls will play against Comilla Victorians in the long awaited final of the  money spinning tournament of Bangladesh, BPL3.

Both the franchise team showed brilliant performance throughout the tournament to seal the final of BPL3. The pair franchise team played ten matches and won 7 matches in the tournament, achieved 14 point to qualify for the final match. Comilla Victorians sealed top position in the point table due to net run rate while Barisal bulls remains second  in the point table.

Comilla Victrorians led by the captain of Bangladesh cricket team Mashrafe bin mortaza eyes to crown the trophy for his franchise team from the very beginning of the tournament. He played the second phase of the matches with hamstring injury and can’t able to bowl in those matches. But he played as a captain for his team and that actually bore fruit for Comilla Victorians. He is vastly experienced with his captaincy  skills and that will be the vital weapon for the Comilla Victorians in final.

On the other hand, Barisal Bulls led by Mahmudullah Riyad  the top order batsman of Bangaldesh cricket team has shown a great performance in BPl both with his batting and captaincy abilities. He injured himself in the second qualifier match against Rangpur while giving a drive to save four for his franchise team, but hope he will be fit to play in the final.He is the leading scorer for Barisal Bulls and he can play a vital innings when his team needs most from him.

Mahmudullah Riyad  Bangladeshi all-rounder Mahmudullah Riyad is playing as captain for Barisal Bulls. Mamudullah’s all-round proficiency and form will hold them in good stead come the qualifiers as he has been regular throughout the season. In addition to his total of wickets, the 231 runs he has gather is reflection of his significance to the side. He is ranked 5 of top run scorers in league stage.

Sabbir Rahman The young sensational hard hitter batsman who played  a crucial cameo innings of 79 runs off just 49 balls featuring seven fours and three massive sixes to seal the final for his franchise team against Ranpur Riders in the second qualifier match. He is also the second highest run scored for Barisal Bulls with 180 runs. He can be dangerous for the opponent team by all means.

Kevon Cooper Caribbean fast bowler Kevon Cooper ranked 4th in the top most wicket takers in the league stage in BPL 3. He played just only matches and grabbed 16 wickets with 1 maiden and 5/15 his BPL career best. He can also contribute with the bat later in the innings for his franchise team.

Al-Amin Bangladeshi fast bowler Al-Amin Hossain played all league stage matches and claimed 16 wicket and 5//36 his career best. He ranked 7th in the most wicket takers in BPL 3.

Players to watch for Comilla Victorians 

Ahmed Shehzad the pakisthani stylish opening batsman  has only played five games, but he has contributed more than healthily to the side with 174 runs. Come the knockouts, much will depend on the start he can get the team off to and the platform he can set for the rest of the team to capitalize on.

Ashar Zaidi  the pakistan born  all-round proficiency through out the tournament. He  scored 199 runs and bagged 16 wickets and can be a vital weapon for his franchise team .

Imrul Kayes the elegent left handed opening batsman of Bangladesh cricket team has played some blistering knock for his franchise team throughout the tournament and he is the highest scorer with 259 runs for Comilla. He has the ability to give his team a flying start there is no question about that.

Abu Haider the young sensational lefty pacer He is the highest wicket taker in the money spinning tournament of Bangladesh, BPL 3. He bagged 21 wickets in just 11 matches. He is also a cunning bowler and knows where to bowl. Yorker is one of his vital weapon of bowling along with beautiful swing bowling.

Pitch and conditions

It’s a difficult pitch to bat and the bounce variation may force the franchise team captain to bowl first by all means. The dew factor and the overcast condition may give some reason to think before taking a decision both for the franchise team captain.

Comilla Victorians Team 

Abu Hider, Ahmed Shehzad, Alok Kapali, Ariful Haque, Ashar Zaidi, Dhiman Ghosh, Imrul Kayes, KMDN Kulasekara, Liton Das†, Mahmudul Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza*, Mukhtar Ahmed, Naeem Islam jnr, AD Russell, Shoaib Malik, Shuvagata Hom, DI Stevens, Sunzamul Islam

Barisal Bulls Team

 Al-Amin Hossain, KK Cooper, N Dutta, RR Emrit, CH Gayle, E Lewis, Mahmudullah*, Mehedi Maruf, Mohammad Sami, Nadif Chowdhury, S Prasanna, Rony Talukdar†, Sabbir Rahman, Sharifullah, Sohag Gazi, Suhrawadi Shuvo, Taijul Islam, BRM Taylor

Despite being marred with some chaos, confusion and by some parochial approach, one must say this year’s BPL was more than a successful one, as far as the quality of cricket is concerned. Perhaps most of the matches didn’t see run-rains, what spectators want most in this shortest format of the game. Still this season of BPL produced a number of nail biting, heart compounding, nerve wracking games; for which the BPL-3 will be remembered forever after.

And now as the twilight of the season has arrived, the biggest question to be circling around is : who will be the Player of the Tournament? In the previous two seasons, Shakib Al Hasan well deservingly was the superior most player and accordingly bagged the award. But this time around, he shouldn’t be even on our shortlist. Yes, we are going to make a shortlist enlisting the probable candidates to win the Player of the Tournament of BPL-3 and I don’t know whether or not you will be surprised, that you should not be if you carefully followed the tournament throughout, that there is no icon cricketer or any so-called larger-than-life foreign superstar whom we believe to be well enough to win the title. Our nominees have been plain and simple by their image but still at the peak of their plausible best application. Here they are…

Abu Haider Rony (Comilla Victorians) : Yes, he is the find of the BPL-3. One of the most important reasons for arranging a tournament like BPL is to unearth hidden talents from one’s own locality; and among our local youngsters, Rony attracted the highest number of eyes. He is an energetic lefty, at the peak of his teenage, who can roar like a lion, can fly like a bird, can smile like any of the Khans of Bollywood and most importantly, has a lethal cocktail of yorkers, bouncers and cutters mixed up with sheer pace at his stock. He has taken 21 wickets from 11 matches with an averege of 13.38 and economy rate of 6.74, he has led his team to the final and now is just one more win away to climb to the cloud nine.

Ashar Zaidi (Comilla Victorians) : Initially he was being considered as just another Pakistani. Maybe Pakistan-born English but the word Pakistan seemed to be the key to many. Some may think even the worst players of Pakistan can attract the BPL franchises for some unknown, strange reasons. That may be true otherwise how come the players like Kamran Akmal or Sohail Khan got a team in the BPL? But fortunately, Zaidi was a stand-out exception. The last-minute addition of Komola Sundori’s side is a senior citizen of his mid thirtees, has vast experience of playing in county cricket and even for Gazi Tankers as well in Bangladesh’s domestic circuit. It is heard that the Pakistani himself requested the Comilla owners to take him in the team and the rest is history. He didn’t play in Comilla’s campaign opener but since the second one, he has featured in all ten matches Comilla played. And in those 10 appearances, he scalped as many as 16 wickets at an average of 9.43 and economy of 4.57. He has also scored 199 runs at 66.33, coming to bat at late middle order and remained unbeaten on four occasions out of seven. This man perhaps is the Shakib Al Hasan of this year’s BPL.

Kevon Cooper (Barisal Bulls) : Players like Chris Gayle and Andre Russell have already left the BPL for the Big Bash League (BBL). But Cooper still is here, which definitely will emerge as a big surprise to many after seeing his extraordinary performance with the ball in the BPL. But whether or not he finds a team in BBL and flies for down under should not be big concern for us, as long as we get to see him performing in the most exciting T20 tournament of the world. Moreover it might be fortunate for the player himself as well to stay in the country so that he could receive the Player of the Tournament in person. The West Indian recruit of the Bulls has played only 8 matches to gain 20 wickets. Maybe it’s not enough to determine how diminishing he has been in the tournament. So his average, economy and strike rates are as follow : 8.70, 5.61 and 9.3.

All three players shortlisted on the contender-list to win the Player of the Tournament will get another chance to showcase their performance in front of us, as both of their respective teams has marched into the final. So let’s not make a mind yet. You never know what they are going to do on the biggest stage of them all to turn the table around!

Comilla Victorians has set a target of 164 against Rangpur Rides in the qualifier one match in BPL season 3 at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Mirpur on Saturday.

Comilla Victorians opener duo Liton Das and Imrul Kayes have given a flying start. Imrul Kayes played a ran a ball innings of 67   with seven boundaries and two massive sixes while his opening partner Liton Das scored 28 runs  featuring one boundary. Overseas player Zaidi played a cameo innings of 40 runs consist of four boundaries and two huge sixes while Shuvagata contributed 12 runs to set a target of 164 against Rangpur.

Rangpur Riders bowlers failed to maintain their line and length in the first 10 overs but they came back sharply later in the game as overseas player Thisara perera bagged a 5 wicket haul in 4 overs for just 26 runs while Spinner Sajib and Nabi took one wicket each for the team.

Earlier, Rangpur Riders skipper ace all-rounder Shakib-al-hasan has won the toss and elected to field.

Comilla Victorians Team

Abu Hider, Ahmed Shehzad, Alok Kapali, Ariful Haque, Ashar Zaidi, Dhiman Ghosh, Imrul Kayes, KMDN Kulasekara, Liton Das†, Mahmudul Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza*, Mukhtar Ahmed, Naeem Islam jnr, AD Russell, Shoaib Malik, Shuvagata Hom, DI Stevens, Sunzamul Islam

Rangpur Riders Team

Abdullah Al Mamun, Abu Jayed, Al-Amin, Arafat Sunny, Jahurul Islam, Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Mithun†, Mohammad Nabi, Muktar Ali, Murad Khan, NLTC Perera, DJG Sammy, Saqlain Sajib, SMSM Senanayake, Shakib Al Hasan*, LMP Simmons, Soumya Sarkar, Wahab Riaz

Jahurul Islam held the batting line-up in shape before Mohammad Nabi’s accurate off-spin gave Rangpur Riders a 21-run win over Comilla Victorians. The win put Rangpur atop the points table with 14 points, two ahead of second-placed Comilla.

For once Comilla couldn’t get control with their bowling as Rangpur piled 153 for six in 20 overs on another double-paced pitch. Imrul Kayes’ hard-hitting 38 gave them a good start, but the rest of the batting line-up were caught in the rut before giving their wickets away.

That they posted a competitive total was courtesy Jahurul, who played his best knock of the tournament so far and is aiming at regaining his spot in the national team for the Asia Cup T20 and World T20. Jahurul previously had two match-winning efforts against Chittagong Vikings and Dhaka Dynamites.

He got to work in the second over when opener Soumya Sarkar checked drove Abu Hider to Shuvagata Hom at cover. In Hider’s next over, Jahurul scooped, slogged and flicked for three boundaries in a row. Lendl Simmons watched the show briefly from the other end, before being sent back in the seventh over for 13.

Shakib got stuck into paceman Kamrul Islam Rabbi for two fours before slogging one to deep midwicket. When Andre Russell took a stunning catch at the long-off boundary to get rid of Thisara Perera in the 13th over, Rangpur were in the dumps. Jahurul however kept finding the boundaries and duly reached his fifty off 43 balls. He added 39 runs for the fifth wicket with Darren Sammy, who made 24 off 20 balls with two fours and a towering six, to revive the innings.

Jahurul was aggressive on anything short and his only six came off Russell when he smashed him over midwicket in the penultimate over. Hider finished with two wickets while Malik, Zaidi, Russell and Rabbi took one each. Mashrafe bowled one over although he is carrying a grade 1 hamstring tear.

Comilla’s chase started with an action-packed 20-minute from Kayes. He smacked Shakib through point and backward square-leg in the first over before latching on to Arafat Sunny. The treatment continued in the next over when Kayes hit two fours between point and cover. He was dismissed off Sammy’s first ball, giving third-man a simple catch after making 38 off 20 balls with six fours and a six.

Comilla then lost three quick wickets. Mahmudul Hasan was given out leg-before before Nabi removed Ahmed Shehzad and Zaidi. Shuvagata Hom and Russell tried to give the chase some impetus with a six each, but fell in the 13th and 16th overs. Mashrafe Mortaza, who has shown sparks of brilliance with the bat in the tournament, also struck a six over long-off before falling to Saqlain Sajib, all in the same over.

Their last hope was Shoaib Malik who fell in the 18th over but it was Hider who struck Sammy for two sixes in an 18-run penultimate over, to bring the equation down to 24 off the final over. But Perera removed Dhiman Ghosh with a superb yorker off the first ball and Rabbi in the fifth delivery to seal the deal

The target was not that difficult for the Victorians to exceed as the Vikings were restricted to an unrecognized total of 136 runs; having Ahmed Shehzad in their team, Comilla Victorians made an easy chase at the end.

Shehzad became the highest scorer for the team with his 37 runs off 41 balls with 4 fours before being departed off the bowling of his fellow country man Bilawal Bhatti.

Imrul Kayes also scored 35 runs (28 balls, 4×5) in the opening. Shuvagata Hom and Ashar Zaidi got out in cheap, they scored 2 and 8 runs respectively in the middle order.

Brief Score:
Chittagong Vikings 136/5
Umar Akmal 49*
Ashar Zaidi 1/18
Comilla Victorians 142/5
Ahmed Shehzad 37
Mohammad Amir 2/22
Result: Comilla Victorians won by 5 wickets
Toss: Comilla Victorians

The Comilla Victorians led by injured Mashrafe bin Mortaza has sealed their fourth win in BPL3, the money spinning tournament. Defending a moderate total of 141/7 against Dhaka Dynamites at Chittagong’s Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday, the Victorians won the nail biting game by 10 runs.

Young paceman Abu Haider Rony and Mashrafe bowled tremendously as Dhaka finished their chase on 131/6. At one stage, Dhaka required 44 runs from 30 balls with seven wickets in hand but Comilla staged a great comeback and eventually won the match with quite easily.

To chase a target of 142, Dhaka did not look comfortable in the initial stages and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Nasir Hossain (32) and Kumar Sangakkara (30) were the only exceptions for Dhaka as the rest of the batsmen struggled to prolong their innings.

Rony continued to have a fine BPL 3, picking up 2/30 from his four overs while Mashrafe was economical, giving away only 18 runs from his four overs, and also picked up the important wicket of Ryan ten Doeschate.