Dynamites batsmen stepped up today, but their bowlers failed to convert it into victory, as Sylhet Superstars kept them in hunt for a last four finish with a six-wicket victory off the penultimate delivery of the match.

The pitch was better for batting than it has been for most parts of the day. Farhad Reza did a decent job as a makeshift opener, scoring 31, including a huge six. Sangakkara was his typical classy self, as he slammed some beautiful boundaries. By the time he was dismissed, he had scored 48 off 35.

Sangakkara was ably supported by Nasir Hossain who scored a brisk 31 off 23 balls. Some smart hitting in the slog overs from Mosaddek Hossain and Waller helped Dhaka post a total of 157, which seemed like a winning score at that stage.

However, Junaid Siddique and Ravi Bopara had other ideas. After Joshua Cobb got dismissed, these batsmen went after the mediocre deliveries, slamming them to all parts of the park. Bopara, in particular morewas severe on the spinners. Both batsmen got to their fifties, but were dismissed soon after.

Sohail Tanvir and Shahid Afridi took care of the rest of the chase. At one point, Sylhet needed 8 off 3 balls. Afridi hit the next two balls for sixes over long leg to seal the victory for Sylhet Superstars.

If Sylhet win tomorrow against Comilla, and Dhaka lose against Barisal, things might end up to be pretty interesting, because it would depend on net run rate and Sylhet might end up qualifying to the top four from close to nowhere.

Source: Cric Tracker

Chittagong Vikings openers Tamim Iqbal and Tillakaratne Dilshan had complete ascendancy over Sylhet Super Stars as the pair chased the scratchy target of 140 with ease and ensured a pleasant victory.

Vikings’ captain Tamim Iqbal won the toss and elected to field. His decision paid off as Sylhet Super Stars were knocked on the floor by Chittagong bowlers. Inside four overs, they were 22/4 with all their top-order batsmen back in the pavilion. The four early dismissals included two run outs which were of Munaweera (in the first over) and Ravi Bopara (in the fourth over).

But, Sylhet Super Stars found a savior in “Boom Boom” Afridi as he took things in hands and anchored the innings. He played really well and it was because of his match saving knock that Sylhet managed to reach a decent total. He was involved in two important partnerships. The first one was a small fifth wicket partnership of 24 run for the fifth wicket with Mominul Haque. He then teamed up with his countryman Sohail Tanvir (17 runs from 16 balls) and added 60 valuable runs to the Sylhet scorecard.

Afridi was well set and posed a danger for the Vikings side as the match had reached the 17th over now. But, he was sent back to the pavilion before he could give the final blows to Chittagong.  Mohd. Amir bowled a slightly short of length delivery which managed to outfox Afridi with its movement and knocked his off stumps. He played a vital innings of 62 runs from 41 balls. His dismissal had its effects as the last three overs after Afridi’s departure yielded only 19 runs. Sylhet ended at a satisfactory target of 140 runs in front of Chittagong Vikings.

It was a relatively easy target to chase for the Vikings. Both Vikings opener came out to bat and gave no chance what so ever to the Sylhet bowlers.

Tamim Iqbal and Dilshan’s intentions looked very clear and were successful in dictating terms over a bowling attack that didn’t have enough to force them to walk back. Iqbal started the second innings with three boundaries off Mohammad Shahid’s first over. Dilshan also batted in his natural touch. Both slowed down a bit in the middle overs when the runs required to win had shrunk. However, there was a steady flow of singles and doubles. The match reached its obvious conclusion after Dilshan reverse swept Abdur Razzak for a boundary for the winning runs.

Sylhet Super Stars struggled from the ball one of the game. Shahid Afridi saved their face from a most likely humiliation with his match-saving innings. The chase was quite easy and both openers enjoyed batting over all the seven wicket-less bowlers who were tried by skipper Mushfiqur Rahim.

The result of the match, however, will not have any impact on the point table as both the teams are currently ranked at the bottom.

Brief Scores:

Sylhet Super Stars – 139/9 in 20 overs (Shahid Afridi 62; Shafiul Islam 2/37)

Chittagong Vikings – 140/0 in 16.1overs (T. Dilshan 67)

Man of the Match: T Dilshan (Chittagong Vikings)

SOURCE: CricTracker

It was a contest between the table toppers and the bottom ranked team in the points table. Comilla Victorians met the Sylhet Superstars in the 14th match of BPL 3. Sylhet skipper Mushfiqur Rahim made the right call at the toss and opted to field first. Comilla Victorians were playing without the West Indies pair of Marlon Samuels, who had left for the Australia tour and Sunil Narine, who was suspended for illegal action. Obviously, it was a major blow to their plans as both the players were an important part of the batting as well as the bowling attack.

Victoria batsman Liton Das lit the things around when began to hammer the Sylhet bowlers from the first over. However, Ravi Bopara got better of him in his very first over the spell. Liton played a breezy knock of 42 from 24 deliveries. One over later, Bopara again gave a twin blow to Sylhet after he sent Mukhtar Ahmed and Shuvagata Hom in a space of one delivery in the same over.

However, Imrul Kayes and Ashar Zaidi took thing forward for the Victorians. Both shared a vital 62 runs partnership. But, it was finally broken by none other than Ravi Bopara. Imrul Kayes (48 from 45 balls) mistimed a slog and Nazmul Hossain Milon, after misjudging the catch finally managed to get hold of the ball and took a fantastic catch and put an end to a brilliant partnership. But, Ashar Zaidi continued his brilliant performance and completed his half century. Zaidi (53 from 36 balls), along with captain Mashrafe Mortaza (10 from 7 balls) took the overall Victorians’ score to 164. Ravi Bopara (4/18) performed extremely well and threatened to take the game away from the Victorians. Incidentally, he was the only wicket taker in the Sylhet bowling attack today.

The target was set for the Sylhet Superstars to chase. They were just 164 runs away from registering their first victory this season and open their account in the point table. In the absence of Sunil Narine, the Victorians’ bowling attack had suffered a heavy dent.

Dilshan Munaweera and Mominul Haque came out to begin the task of chasing the challenging target. Both gave a decent start before Abu Hider, in the 6th over, managed to get an edge off Mominul Haque’s bat which was safely collected by the wicket keeper. Both batsmen were batting comfortably, but the partnership was brought to a halt before it could flourish.

Munaweera kept his attacking mode on, smashing a boundary and a six of the very next over by Sunzamul Islam. But, Abu Hider got another breakthrough of the big fish Dilshan Munaweera (36 from 26 balls). However, Ravi Bopara and Mushfiqur Rahim showed sturdiness and shared an important partnership of 87 runs. Both played aggressively at a strike rate of above 140. The match, however, could have still shifted its balance to either side as the Victorians’ bowlers kept bowling tight.

26 runs were still required from 19 balls. But, Sylhet suffered a setback at the wrong time. Nuwan Kulasekara struck a vital blow. Mushfiqur, who looked very steady, tried to make some room, but a full and straighter delivery from Kulasekara beat his bat and shattered the stumps. This dismissal brought an end to the 87-run partnership which came off just 57 balls. The task looked very tough as 26 runs were required off the last 3 overs. However, Hammad Azam, the next batsman who came to bat, blasted a six and a boundary in the last three ball of Santokie’s over.

The Sylhet Super Stars required only 11 runs off the last 12 balls. The game was alive and so were the Sylhet’s hopes of winning the game. Bopara was still dangerously floating around and Azam was able to connect the ball very well. Kulasekara began the 19th over, Bopara and Azam took singles off the first three balls. But, Azam, who was at the strike, could not hit the ball cleanly and lost his wicket in a quest to finish the chase early. This wicket did not affect Bopara as he collected two doubles off the last two deliveries to make it 4 runs off the last over.

The match now looked very simple. With the well set Ravi Bopara still at the crease, it seemed as if the match had reached its conclusion. However, the last over was little dramatic and made the Sylhet side sweat a little before they could finally leave a sigh of relief.

4 runs were needed now in the last over. Rony Talukdar nearly made a mess of Ravi Bopara’s efforts when he claimed two wickets in two consecutive balls. The first to fall was the Bopara himself after a match-winning knock of 50 off just 37 balls. Rony made everybody bite their nails in excitement after he took another wicket off the next delivery. There were two new batsmen at the crease and Rony was on a hattrick. But, Nazmul Hossain Milon took care of the fact that there was no twist in the climax. He slapped the hat-trick ball straight over the long-off area for a huge six and finished the game in a straightforward manner.

It would have been very cruel for the Sylhet Super Stars team if it had ended in a loss for them. But, the Englishman’s all-round performance ensured that Sylhet tasted its first success of the BPL. Victorians have to digest this loss and look forward win their next match. The bowling efforts of Nuwan Kulasekara (2/31) and Rony Talukdar (4/28) went in vain. It was a very decent performance from them, but the day belonged to Ravi Bopara and the Sylhet Super Stars.

Brief Scores:

Comilla Victorians – 164/5 in 20 overs ( Ashar Zaidi 53; Ravi Bopara 4/18)

Sylhet Super Stars – 168/6 in 19.4 overs (Ravi Bopara 50; Rony Talukdar 4/28)

Man of the Match: Ravi Bopara (Sylhet Super Stars)

SOURCE: CricTracker

Sylhet just needed 2 runs in the last over of the match with 6 wickets in hand but Abu Hider Rony throttled the batting line up in the last over of the match picking up two wickets in consecutive deliveries including that of settled Ravi Bopara. Bopara scored 50 off 38 balls with 4 fours and a six.

Nurul Hasan flicked a six in the single ball he faced to end up in the victory lap.

Earlier in the innings of Sylhet Super Stars Mushfiqur Rahim scored a brilliant knock of 47 (31 balls, 4×4), unfortunately being deprived of his half century by Kulasekara.

In the initial stage of the innings, Dilshan Munaweera continued his good form in this competition. Before becoming the second victim of Abu Hider, Munaweera scored 36 runs of 26 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes.

For Comilla Victorians, Abu Hider produced an excellent bowling figure of 4 for 28 runs delivering 3.4 overs.

Brief Score:

Comilla Victorians 164

Ashar Zaidi 53*, Imrul Kayes 43, Litton Das 42

Ravi Bopara 4/18

Sylhet Super Stars 168/6

Ravi Bopara 50, Mushfiqur Rahim 47

Abu Hider 4/28

Result: Sylhet Super Stars won by 4 wickets

Toss: Sylhet Super Stars

SOURCE: bdcricteam

Bangladesh fast bowler Rubel Hossain will be looking to transform the fortunes of the Sylhet Super Stars when he makes his much-awaited return from injury today against Comilla Victorians.

Rubel suffered a side-strain injury back in September this year and subsequently missed the recent home series against Zimbabwe. And in his absence, the Super Stars have struggled badly, losing all of their four matches.

The Super Stars therefore, will be counting on Rubel for inspiration as the opening match of the 2015 Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20’s second phase takes place today at Chittagong’s Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.

“I am feeling much better at the moment. I have bowled [yesterday] and the day before that and I was able to give my hundred percent without any discomfort. There has been a gap but I will be playing [today],” Rubel told the media yesterday following their training session.

Mushfiqur Rahim’s Sylhet came agonisingly close to winning three of their four matches but lost them by an aggregate margin of only eight runs. Rubel however, believes they are more than capable of making a comeback and posting their maiden win of BPL 3.

“I think it’s part of the game. We already lost four games but still we have six more matches left. If we can give our best we will be able to make a comeback in the tournament. Obviously it feels bad when you lose matches and it was a difficult time for us,” said the right-arm fast bowler.

Rubel added that the wickets in the port city of Chittagong will be slightly better compared to the ones in Dhaka. The opening phase saw a lot of runs at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium but eventually, the tracks turned into a heaven for the bowlers, thus paving the way for some below-par totals.

“Yes, obviously, we have played many games in Chittagong before and I think the pitches will be better in comparison to Dhaka. I think we can start differently [today]. There is no extra pressure on me but first, we need to win matches as we have already lost four games. I think a win will change the scenario,” said Rubel.

Pakistan lost their 2nd T20 by 3 runs and now England, who is ranked second in the World T20, is leading the series by 2 -0.

Shahid Afridi scored 24 off just 7 deliveries. Good news is all Pakistani players who were bought by BPL franchises will be able to play for their teams after December 1.

Pakistan’s captain Shahid Afridi was sold to Sylhet Superstars in the BPL Player Choice draft in October. Afridi tweeted from his Twitter account “Hopefully looking forward to play for Sylhet Superstars in BPL. It’s always a pleasure to play in Bangladesh”.

After announcing his retirement from Tests and ODIs, Shahid Afridi still plays for his national T20 side and was also selected the captain of the national T20 team of Pakistan.

Shahid Afridi will most likely play in most of Sylhet Superstars game because of the form he is in. He has done impressive things with his batting and bowling in the recent past. Sylhet Super Stars’ supporters in Bangladesh will expect a lot from this fellow.

Shahid Afridi last played against Bangladesh in 2014 Asia Cup where he struck 7 sixes and scored jointly 3rd fastest fifty and also helped his team chasing the record total posted by Bangladesh that day.

Back in Bangladesh, everyone might want to see Afridi playing in rest of the games of BRB BPL T20 2015. BPL will help Afridi warm up more for the Asia Cup 2016 and World T20 2016. This year Afridi didn’t play any special innings compared to 2014, but he still has the potential to do well. It’s hard to say if it will happen in BPL.

SOURCE: bdcricteam

BPL 3 Match 12 Review: Sylhet Super Stars v Dhaka Dynamites, Sangakkara leads Dhaka to a commanding win: Sylhet Super Stars desperately need a win to keep their hopes in the tournament alive, yet continued their horrible run losing against the Dhaka Dynamites. Fidel Edwards replaced Ajantha Mendis for the Superstars while the Dhaka outfit remained unchanged from yesterday’s game. The skipper of the Dynamites, Kumar Sangakkara won the toss and elected to bat first. A target of 166 proved beyond the Sylhet team as their batsmen failed to produce the goods again.

Mohammad Shahid started the proceedings on a bright note for the Super Stars by picking up the wicket of Shykat Ali in the first over of the innings. Trying to go for an expansive pull over mid-wicket and he top edged it to third man where Nasum Ahmed took a fine running catch. Sanga walked in and started in an aggressive manner slamming Edwards for 4 fours in the second over. Shadman Islam was also hit 3 fours, however, was kept quiet by Dilshan Munaweera in the 4th over.

Edwards cleaned him up on the ball of the next over which ended his knock on 15 off 15. Nasir Hossain and Sanga kept things steady until the 9th over when Hossain decided to take on the bowlers. He hammered Ravi Bopara for a wonderfully timed six and Nazmul Islam over long-off with yet another maximum. Hossain spanked yet another six before being dismissed in the 14th over by Nasum Ahmed for a well made 33 off 29. Sanga kept ticking the scoreboard with singles and occasional boundaries.

He brought up his 50 in the 16th over. Lahiru Thirimane made 13 off 8 including 2 fours before being cleaned up by countryman Munaweera. The skipper took charge and hit Bopara for 2 fours and a maximum in the 18th over. He was dismissed for a brilliant 75 off 56 which included 9 fours and 1 six. The Dynamites ended the innings on a challenging 166/6.

The Sylhet reply began on a steady note with Josh Cobb and Munaweera putting on 21 in 4 overs. The Sri Lankan was the first to be dismissed in the next over for 16 off 18 balls including 3 fours. Cobb soon departed for 15 followed by Mominul Haque for 12 leaving the team struggling at 49/3 from 8.3 overs. Yasir Shah was hit for 2 fours by skipper Rahim who was looking in good touch. Bopara was caught in the deep managing only a top-edge to an attempted sweep.

Rahim tried to pull one off Abul Hasan, however, missed it completely, with the ball hitting the back foot he was given out LBW. He made 23 off 22 and couldn’t play the kind of knock his team needed today. Yasir Shah completed his spell by picking up the wickets of Nazmul Milon and Nazmul Islam in the 18th over. The 19th over again witnessed the fall of 2 more wickets; Mustafizur Rahman uprooted the stumps of Shahid and Nasum Ahmed. Farhad Reza took the wicket of Edwards and the Super Stars were bowled out for 132 handing a comfortable 34 run win to the Dhaka. Narul Hasan remained unbeaten on 35 off 22 with 2 sixes and 1 four.

Brief Scores:

Dhaka Dynamites  – 166/6 in 20 overs (K  Sangakkara 75; M Shahid 2/27)

Sylhet Super Stars – 132/10 in 19.5 overs (N Hasan 35*; M Hossain 3/15)

Man of the Match: Kumar Sangakkara (Dhaka Dynamites)

SOURCE: CricTracker

Dhaka Dynamites 166/6 (Sangakara 75, Nasir 33, Shaid 27-2) Beat Sylhet Super Stars 132(Nurul 35*, Mushfiq 23, Mosharof 3-15) by 34 runs 

Nothing is going in favor of the Sylhet Super Stars; 4 defeats in a row has put this team into nowhere. Captain Mushfiq doesn’t feel comfortable answering the question why is everything falling apart for the team. They are starting off real well but then again they cannot pull it off at the end. Seems like this session of BPL will be a nightmare for the team if things go like this for the rest of the tournament.

Only 2 batsmen crossed 20 runs mark but couldn’t build a good innings. Their starting was good enough for the team but then again just like the other matches they couldn’t pull it off. Losing too many wickets in a short time has put the team in crisis situation again. Sylhet stopped on 132. Musfiq scored 23 and Nurul stayed 35 not out, apart from these two none of the batsmen could stand tall in the crease made it quite impossible for Sylhet to make a way out and mark their first victory. Mosharof hossain picked up 3 wickets from his 4 overs giving away only 15 runs. Mustafizur, Abul and Yasir got 2 wickets each. Farhad Reza got the last wicket and ensured the Victory for Dhaka Dynamites.

Earlier in innings Dhaka Dynamites won the toss and elected to bat first; finishes on 166/6 . Sangkara made a brisky 75 from just 56 balls and on the other hand Nasir Hossain made 33 just by hitting 3 sixes. From the bowlers perspective; it was pretty decent display from them. Bopara gave 41 from his 3 overs; Shahid got 2 wickets from his spell giving away 27 runs from his 4. Edwards, Munweera and Nasum got 1 wickets each.

The ghost of last-over defeat has once again haunted Sylhet Super Stars as they suffered their third consecutive defeat in the Bangladesh Premier League by six runs yesterday. Shakib al Hasan produced another vital all-round contribution in the game as Rangpur Riders picked up their third win in four games.

Shakib had earlier stated that the wickets are getting slower by each game and low totals are becoming harder to achieve with the ball skidding and turning viciously. That’s exactly what happened yesterday when the Super Stars came on to bat. 

Wicket-to-wicket bowling without any experiment was enough for Rangpur who tightened the run flow and forced the Sylhet batters to play faulty shots and lose wickets. Shakib took just four balls to strike when he trapped Josh Cobb, for a golden duck, plumb in front with the score on one and later removed the dangerous Dilshan Munaweera in the fourth over. 

Mominul Haque finally looked in good touch but his 23-ball cameo ended with Thisara Perera hitting his front pad in the eighth over. Sylhet had already gathered 52 by that point and what should have been an easy task thereafter was made harder by their random experiment in the batting line-up.

Left-arm spinner Nazmul Apu came in at No 5 and lasted four deliveries before becoming Sachithra Senanayake’s only victim in the match. The wicket handed the momentum to Rangpur who topped all the nervy moments then onwards to eventually win the game.

Ravi Bopara, who bowled exceptionally well earlier (4-0-8-1), did not trouble much either, as Arafat Sunny fooled the English cricketer with his slider and hit him plumb in front to extend the panic in the Sylhet dressing room.

Nasum Ahmed, Nazmul Hasan and Nurul Hasan altogether produced just 21 runs as Sylhet skipper Mushfiqur Rahim found himself batting with No 10 Mohammad Shahid and 14 still needed off 12 balls.  

Darren Sammy, bowling his first over, cleaned up Shahid and left six to defend off the last over with Ajantha Mendis on strike. The Sri Lankan lasted just two more deliveries before mishitting 22-year-old right-arm quickie Abu Jayed at the hands of long-on as Mushfiqur stood marooned on 25 and Rangpur wildly celebrated their second last-over win in the tournament.

The match, however, seemed to be in Sylhet’s bag after they had bowled out Rangpur for a mere 109, courtesy of Shahid’s best T20 figures.  

Riders top-scorer Shakib struggled for his 33 off 37 balls as the southpaw struck just two fours and a six while none apart from Perera (21) and Lendl Simmons (13) made it to double digits.

Bopara used his slow pace to good effect to tie the run-rate as Shahid cashed in on the opportunity to bag four for 12 – but eventually the contributions were not enough to move Sylhet off the mark in the points table. 

Jannatul Naym Pieal

Sylhet Superstars are again in the headlines for wrong reasons. They started their BPL journey this year with controversy over foreign players, which followed by three back-to-back defeats in three straight matches. And now for the latest of the three losses, English opener Ravi Bopara criticises Mushfiqur Rahim’s game plan.

Sylhet were trailing by 8 runs from 7 balls with Ajantha Mendis having the strike and Mushfiqur Rahim at the other end. Everyone expected that delivery to be result into a dot ball so that the strike goes to Mushfiqur from the very beginning of the last over and Mushfiqur gets six balls to score the needed 8 runs.

But to everyone’s amazement, Ajantha Mendis somehow hit the ball in the gap and called for a run. Mushfiqur also gave a nod and completed the single. As a result, with the completion of the over, the strike went back to Mendis. But Mendis failed to hold his nerve and got himself dismissed without scoring any run in the last over off the bowling of Abu Jayed Chowdhury. And thus Sylhet suffered another last-over defeat with Mushfiqur remaining unbeaten at the other end.

Like everyone else, the incident of Mushfiqur’s going for a run in the last ball of the penultimate over surprised Bopara as well. “It doesn’t make any sense why on earth he went for a run at such crucial time. Maybe as we had lost the previous two matches by one run, those two batsmen at the crease considered every run very important. But unfortunately that one run cost us the entire match.”

Bopara also added, “True that you must go for every single run-taking opportunity laying before you. But that’s not when when you have only one wicket left and you are still shy from the winning line. But at the same time, our top orders are more responsible for the loss. They should have contributed more.

“It’s very disappointing to lose such a close game. It’s really quite frustrating. As a team full of professionals, we should have won these matches. But I don’t want to blame any individual. It was a collective failure. Our bowlers are doing well but it’s high time we came forward as a batting unit also.”

SOURCE: bdcricteam

Rangpur Riders continued their good form by registering their third win of the 2015 BPL. Sylhet Super Stars continued their losing streak and have been left with plenty to ponder. Shakib won yet another toss and decided to bat first and put on only 109 tough it proved enough as the Super Stars put in a poor batting performance along with some tactical blunders in the run chase and lost the match by 6 runs.

Soumya Sarkar was dismissed in the 3rd over with the score on 17. He nicked one off Mohammad Shahid to skipper Rahim behind the wicket. Simmons, looking good having hit 2 fours in a knock of 13, was run out attempting a quick single. He was at the non-striker’s end and called Shakib for a run when the left-hander guided one to short third man. Shakib kept playing positively and also rotating the strike. Wickets to Mohammad Mithun and Jahurul Islam pegged back the Riders, however, Perera came in and batted cautiously before dispatching Ajantha Mendis for 2 consecutive sixes in the 13th over before being cleaned up by Ravi Bopara off a cleverly bowled slower one; the Sri Lankan scored 21 off 20 balls. Wickets of Sammy and Senanayake were followed by that of Shakib for a well made 33 off 37 balls including 2 fours and 1 six. Shahid was on a hat-trick as Arafat Sunny was dismissed off the next delivery after Shakib’s wicket. Riders managed only 109/9 and needed a big bowling effort.

Munaweera hit the second ball of the innings for 4 however Shakib removed Englishman Josh Cobb for a golden duck on the 4th ball giving his team a perfect start. The Sri Lankan continued batting aggressively and hit Senanayake for a six and a four in the 3rd over. Mominul Haque also started positively and hit 3 fours in the space of 3 overs. Shakib struck again removing Munaweera for 17 off 11 when he holed out at long off. Haque smashed Shakib for 3 fours in the 6th over and was looking in ominous touch. He was unlucky to be given out LBW off Perera as the umpire missed the inside edge. His 29 off 23 put his team in a good position to overhaul the target however the others failed to bat sensibly and crumbled under pressure. Nazmul Islam was caught and bowled by Senanayake and Arafat Sunny had Bopara LBW.

Abu Jayed ended Nasum Ahmed’s vigil while Shakib returned to pick up his 3rd wicket in the form of Nazmul Milon by getting through his defence. Skipper Rahim was well set however running out of partners as Nurul Hasan was run out and Shahid bowled by Sammy in the penultimate over. Ajanta Mendis took a couple of runs off the 5th ball of this over and should have defended the last ball to ensure strike for Rahim at the start of the last over. The Sylhet skipper made a huge blunder by taking a single off this delivery which kept Mendis on strike with 7 needed. He survived the first ball, however, tried to go for a big hit and holed out at long on where Senanayake took a good catch. Rahim remained on 25* off 34 balls and will surely regret a missed opportunity to register his teams’ first win. Shakib deservedly won his 2nd man-of-the-match award in a row.

Brief Scores:

Rangpur Riders: 109/9 (Shakib 33; M Shahid 4/12)

Sylhet Super Stars: 103 (M Haque 29; Shakib 3/31)

Man of the Match: Shakib Al Hasan

SOURCE: CricTracker

A second five-wicket haul in T20s for Al-Amin Hossain, which included his second hat-trick, helped Barisal Bulls nip out a low-scoring one-run thriller against Sylhet Superstars.

After taking the first four wickets in the first two overs, Al-Amin's fifth was Nazmul Hossain Milon, who was caught superbly by Taijul Islam at cover in the penultimate over. Crucially however, Fidel Edwards speared a four through the cover off his last ball, ensuring eight were needed in the last over.

Taijul took the wicket of Mohammad Shahid in the first ball to make it his third and then Fidel Edwards took two and one off the next two balls, giving Subashis Roy the strike for the fourth ball. He missed that one and then ticked off a single to cover. But with four needed, Edwards and Subashis took two runs to end a thrilling encounter. More to follow...

Jannatul Naym Pieal

Tamim Iqbal, the Chittagong Vikings captain, had some heated conversation with Sylhet Superstars owner and BPL technical committee prior to the match between Chittagong Vikings and Sylhet Superstars. What exactly happened in the middle (or beside the boundary rope to be precise) is still not fully revealed.

There are many speculations from many source. But one thing is for sure that something was disturbing Tamim Iqbal, the dashing opener of Bangladesh national team, for which he was very displeased and looking animated prior to the match, which eventually started after a delay of 70 minutes.

And now in the post match press conference, Tamim Iqbal has brought a serious allegation against Sylhet Superstars owner Azizul Islam. Tamim claimed that Azizul had used slang languages about Tamim’s parents.

“I want to reveal everything to you,” said Tamim. “First I heard the toss would be delayed but I had no idea what was exactly happening there. I casually asked the match referee what actually happened and then I got to know that there was some confusion regarding some of Sylhet’s foreign players. I was requested to wait for 20 minutes but ultimately it took them over 25 minutes for the toss.”

Tamim continued, “The match referee and one of the technical committee members reached to the conclusion that those foreign players who have problems with NOC would not take part in today’s match. This was final and I asked them for my copy of player list. But I didn’t get it, rather was said that it would be delivered later.

“But then when we were about to take the field, I found Joshua Cobb and Ravi Bopara in the field. But just a few minutes ago it was declared that they would not be playing. So I said, ‘what’s this? We won’t play in such mismanagement.’ Then came the match referee and others, and then the inconvenience began.

“But I must say one thing, the words he (Tamim didn’t disclose who this he is but it is understood that Tamim was referring to Sylhet Superstars owner Azizul Islam) applied on me were very offensive. As national cricketers, we should be shown due respect. You might have got a lot of money in your pocket but that doesn’t give you the right to say things about someone’s parents. I am not here to hear bad language about my family and parents.

“I was calling him ‘sir’ throughout but in reply how he treated me is totally disgusting. This is not the way things should go. I have my experience of playing in the IPL as well. I must admit, I never saw this kind of mismanagement there.

“I consider myself to be a part of the BCB. I believe BCB will take necessary steps against him. I am not a beggar that you will be insulting me and go across. I am here to play and represent my team,” concluded Tamim.

SOURCE: brcricteam

BPL 3 Match 3 Review: Sylhet Super Stars v Chittagong Vikings, Vikings off the mark in another tense finish: The Chittagong Vikings got a much-needed win however not before some drama in a closely contested match which witnessed yet another thrilling finish. Batting first the Vikings posted 180/5 and won the encounter by 1 runs with their bowlers managing to keep calm in pressure situations. The Super Stars were always in the run chase, however, could not get past the line. The start of the match was delayed for more than an hour, after the absence of the Super Stars’ skipper Mushfiqur Rahim for the toss.

Joshua Cobb and Ravi Bopara were the two players who did not have NOC’s, so they were not included in the Sylhet team sheets at the time of the toss which finally took place. But it is believed that by the time play was set to begin, BCB received those NOCs and so Sylhet decided to play them. Tamim Iqbal, he Vikings skipper protests thereafter stemmed from the fact that Cobb and Bopara were not in the original team sheets given to him at the toss. These two were ultimately left out of the Sylhet team and thus they fielded only 2 overseas players in the game. Rahim won the toss and decided to field first.

The Vikings got an early setback when Dilshan was dismissed for a duck in the second over by Subashis Roy, he mistimed a pull shot and got caught. Tamim Iqbal was watchful early on however opened up in smashing Munaweera for 4 fours in the fifth over. He continued playing aggressively and found an able partner in Yasir Ali who was making his T20 debut. He brought up his 50 off just 33 balls in the 9th over of the innings. He hammered Ajantha Mendis for a four and six in the same over and followed it up with a couple of sixes in the tenth over bowled by Nazmul Islam. He was finally dismissed by Mendis in the 13th over after a superb knock of 69 from just 45 balls. Trying to go for a drive he didn’t reach the pitch of the ball and gave an easy catch to short third-man.

Yasir had faced 28 balls and scored only 14 runs and decided to improve his strike rate after the wicket of his captain. He smashed Mendis for a four and six in the same over and made his intentions clear. Anamul Haque went for 3 and was dismissed by Munaweera in the next over. Jeevan Mendis came in and spanked Islam for 2 consecutive sixes in the 16th over. He went for a 20 off 13 balls after being caught by Rahim off Mohammad Shahid’s slower ball. A couple of sixes in the next over took Yasir Ali past 50. He was dismissed off the final ball of the innings being run out going for the second run. A well made 63 off 52 balls including 4 sixes ensured the Vikings posted a challenging total of 180/5. Ziaur Rehman remained unbeaten on 15 off just 7 balls including 1 four and 1 six.

Mohammad Amir conceded a four off the first ball of the Super Stars’ innings, however, bowled 5 tight balls conceding just 5 off the over. Munaweera had struck the first boundary of the innings and was up against Dilshan who was to bowl the second over. 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 is what the over yielded much to the delight of a big crowd at Mirpur. He kept hitting the ball crisply and the Super Stars were sitting pretty at 54/0 from the first 5 overs. He brought up his half-century in the next over with a four and six off Saeed Ajmal before Junaid Siddique, who had faced 13 balls, was dismissed for 5 in the 7th over by Shafiul Islam.

Ajmal took 2 wickets in his next over and put the pressure back on the opposition. The first to go was Munaweera, after a blistering knock of 64 off 30 balls which included 13 fours and 1 six, followed by Mominul Haque for 2 off 5. The Sri Lankan was caught at mid-wicket while Haque couldn’t execute a reverse sweep and was caught plumb in front. Rahim, known to execute his skills under pressure, steadied things and kept rotating the strike to good effect. Nazrul Hasan hit a six and 2 boundaries in the 13th over and by the end of it the Super Stars needed 59 off 42 balls.

Hasan was dismissed LBW by Shafiul for a well made 32 off 20. Milon was the next to go for 9 becoming Shafiul’s 3rd wicket. A spell of 3/25 from 4 overs was remarkable under the circumstances. With 26 needed from 18 and Rahim on 32 off 24, the match seemed to be in control for the Super Starts, however, Amir bowled a brilliant 18th over which also witnessed a run-out, that of Mohammad Shahid; Amir conceded just 5 runs in this over.

Rahim hit a full toss from Taskin out of the park and brought the equation down to 9 off the last over. Trying to scoop the ball to fine-leg he made a mistake of taking a single leaving Mendis with too much to do. A bye on the 4th ball brought the skipper back on strike and hit a splendid 4 off the penultimate ball through covers to ensure a last ball finish. Amir held his nerve and bowled a fuller one on the off side which Rahim could only guide to the covers managing just a single thereby handing the Vikings a 1 run victory. He remained unbeaten on 50 off 34 balls. Shafiul Islam was rightly awarded the player of the match for his brilliant spell.

Brief Scores:

Chittagong Vikings – 180/5 (Tamim Iqbal 69; Subashis Roy 1/22)

Sylhet Super Stars – 179/6 (Munaweera 64; Shafiul Islam 3/25)

SOURCE: Cric Tracker

Following the end of Chittagong Vikings’ BPL game against Sylhet Superstars, Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal launched a scathing attack against a ‘franchisee official’ whom he accused of insulting his parents prior to the game.

There was plenty of drama prior to the start of the BPL’s day fixture. The match was delayed because the foreign players that Sylhet wanted to include in the game did not have no-objection certificates from their home-boards.

As a result, the Bangladesh Premier League’s technical committee decided to bend the rules a bit and allowed Sylhet to play the match with two foreign players.

As per the rules of the BPL a team has to field four foreign players in every match.

However, as per the playing conditions, the BPL’s technical committee has the right ‘edit or delete’ a rule if it feels necessary. And the technical committee later said that they changed the rule in order to prevent a walkover which could ‘tarnish the image’ of the competition.

After the ruling, the team lists were exchanged by the two captains and the toss took place at 1:55 pm.

However, when the match began, Sylhet in a surprising move fielded four foreign players including the men in question—Joshua Cobb and Ravi Bopara.

As a result, Tamim protested and went off the field. What ensued next was a nearly hour-long discussion between the players, franchisee officials and members of the BPL’s technical committee.

Tamim was seen talking a senior Sylhet Superstars official near the grandstand that had quite a few spectators in. To everyone’s surprise, minutes later the left-hander seemingly lost his cool and briskly walked back to the dressing room.

According to Tamim, the ‘particular individual’ in question was trying to convince him to allow Sylhet to play with all the four foreign players.

According to the playing conditions, a team can only be changed after toss if the opposing captain gives his permission.

The national opener seemed disgusted at the some of the remarks that were reportedly made against him.

“The one thing I want to say is that people need to respect national cricketers. People have money but that doesn’t mean they will treat a national cricketer like a beggar. People need to start respecting us,” Tamim told reporters in the post-match press conference later in the evening.

“We are here to play cricket, I haven’t come here to hear insults about my parents or my family. And I was so nice to that individual, I even called him sir. He asked me to stand up and talk to him and I did that.

“Then he said a really bad thing about my family, which was very insulting.

These franchisees may have a lot of money, but there is a 1000 times more money in the IPL. I might not have played in the IPL but I was in the squad. I know how they treat players,” he added.

Tamim refused to name the individual during the press conference but said, “ I think you all know what I am talking about.”

The match which, Sylhet eventually played with two foreign players began at 3:10 pm, one hour and ten minutes after the scheduled start.

BPL technical committee convener, Jalal Yunus admitted that Sylhet had committed a ‘mistake’ when they decided to change the team line-up after the toss and include four foreign players in the side. 

When contacted, Sylhet Super Stars owner Azimul Haque denied the allegation, and said nobody insulted Tamim Iqbal today.

A superb knock by the icon of the Super Stars Mushfiqur Rahim has not been able to save his team being defeated by the Vikings in the thrilling third match of the Bangladesh Premier League.

chasing the winning margin of 180 runs, Sylhet Super Stars failed to take 3 runs in the ultimate ball of the innings and thus suffered a single run defeat in their first match of the season at the Sher – E – Bangla National Stadium today.

Skipper Mushfiqur Rahim hold one end for the Super Stars for more than an hour and became unbeaten at 50 (34 balls, 4×3, 6×2).

Sylhet Super Stars started their innings blazingly – the opening pair between Dilshan Munaweera and Junaid Siddique Imrose collected 66 runs in less than 7 over’s.

Munaweera struck 13 fours and a six to build up his 64 run innings in just 30 balls before Pakistan super performer Saeed Ajmal hit back gleefully to bring the Vikings back in the game.

Ajmal’s two wickets in 2 over’s put barrier in the run flow of the Super Stars; after dislodging Munaweera, Ajmal trapped one down Mominul Haque (2 in 5 balls) plumb in front in the 8th over of the match.

In the fourth wicket partnership, Nurul Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim scored 33 runs. In the 3rd ball of the 15th over, Nurul Hasan became the second victim of Shafiul Islam.

The lanky pacer grabbed his third wicket in the 17th over through uprooting the stumps of Nazmul Hossain Milon (9 off 8 balls).

Skipper Tamim Iqbal’s athletic throw produced a run out (Mohammad Shahid) in the 18th over the match seemed to revive the hopes of the Vikings.

Brief score:
Chittagong Vikings 180/5
Tamim Iqbal Khan 69, Yasir Ali 63
Sylhet Super Stars 179/7

Dilshan Munaweera 64, Mushfiqur Rahim 50*
Shafiul Islam 3/25
Result: Chittagong Vikings won by 1 run.
Toss: Sylhet Super Stars

SOURCE: bdcricteam

Jannatul Naym Pieal

It’s only the second day of the third season of Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and mismanagement has already striken! Prior to the first match of the day between Chittagong Vikings and Sylhet Superstars, the toss was scheduled to happen at 1.30pm. But because of some confusion regarding NOCs for two of the Sylhet Superstars overseas players – Joshua Cobb and Ravi Bopara, the toss delayed for 27 minutes and finally it happened at 1.57pm.

Then though the match was expected to begin at 2pm, it was officially announced later that the match would start 2.15pm. But the match didn’t start at the rescheduled time either. Sylhet Superstars fielders were already in the middle and Chittagong Vikings openers Tamim Iqbal and Tilkaratne Dilshan also stepped in the field to bat but suddenly the umpires called them back again outside the boundary rope.

Finally the match arrived at around 3.10pm, after a delay of nearly 70 minutes. Sylhet Superstars are not playing with the two controversial players. They are fielding only two overseas players. And also to be noted, there will be a full twenty-over match in either innings as no over has been curtailed out.

Whatever the matter is, this is definitely a shame for BPL. Everyone thought after some chaos in the first two seasons of the tournament, this time BCB would be able to establish a clean image for themselves with arranging a successful tournament. But that seems to be just a dream now.

SOURCE: bdcricinfo