BPL 2016: Dhaka Dynamites take top spot, leave Barisal in shambles; Chittagong Vikings ride Gayle and Tamim blitz to humble Rangpur Riders
Chris Gayle lit up the show with a breezy 40 off 26 balls
Dhaka Dynamites versus Barisal Bulls
The match was short of runs, but there wasn’t any dearth of excitement as Dhaka Dynamites overhauled a gritty Barisal Bulls to register a win by 4 wickets. Barisal bowlers tried their hearts out, but there weren’t enough runs on the board to put the skids of panic under the Dynamites.
Barisal Bulls won the toss and elected to bat. It didn’t start well for them in the first couple of overs as they couldn’t pierce the gaps, mounting pressure on themselves. Shahriar Nafees was all at sea, crawling to 3 runs off 11 balls. He was eventually dismissed in the 3rd over by Abu Jayed. The first 3 overs fetched a meagre 6 runs that included a wicket maiden.
Dilshan Munaweera took the attack to Shakib-Al-Hasan scoring 15 runs but was unluckily run-out despite the bat being over the line as it was hanging in the air. A couple of wickets after a sedate start was the story for the Bulls during the power-play. Dhaka did well to hold the Bulls back, allowing them only 30 runs. Yet again the onus lied with Mushfiqur Rahim to steer a comeback.
Shakib-Al-Hasan was Dhaka’s man of the match
Jeevan Mendis suffered a horrendous mix-up with the skipper resulting in the former's run-out. Somebody needed to resurrect the derailed train for the Bulls. Mushfiqur blended caution with aggression and lifted the Bulls to 56/3 at the end of 10 overs.
Rahim had got his eyes in, milking the bowlers while Nadif Chowdhury also got a few away to the boundary. Shakib-Al-Hasan struck the body blow for the Bulls as Rahim was sent packing for 36 runs. At the end of 15 overs, the Bulls were placed in a precarious position with the score looking bleak at 85/4.
Dhaka Dynamites slowly turned the screws on the Bulls. The Bulls, nevertheless, needed a strong finish from Thisara Perera. The fact that the Bulls had to deal with the wily Dwayne Bravo wasn’t going to make things simpler.
A flurry of wickets piled on the agony for the Bulls in the quest of scoring big in the death overs. Perera never looked his usual self, scoring at a run-a-ball. A cameo from Rumman Raees made sure that Barisal posted a respectable total of 132.
Chasing 133 didn’t see the Dynamites canter along as Taijul Islam castled Mehedi Maruf in the 3rd ball of the 1st over. The good news for Dhaka was that Shakib and Sangakkara were there to pave the way to the target.
Through pieces of clever cricket, they manoeuvred the ball around the park to get along to 34 runs for the loss of one wicket in the power-play. Dhaka didn’t take the match by the scruff of the neck, but Barisal were wary of Shakib and Sangakkara’s ability to take the game away.
Against the run of play, Sangakkara was pouched at long-on by Thisara Perera off Taijul Islam. Nonetheless, the platform was built to take forward the innings. Nasir Hossain joined the Dhaka skipper at the crease. Shakib lobbed a caught & bowled dolly to Enamul Haque to leave the Dynamites reeling at 60/3 at the close of 10 overs.
With two new men in Nasir and Mosaddek in the middle, Barisal had the opportunity to sneak in through the backdoor. The partnership, nonetheless, gained momentum and Dhaka got themselves up to 93 for the loss of 3 wickets at the end of 15 overs.
With 40 runs required off the last 5 overs at a rate of 8 rpo, the match was poised for a thrilling finish. The singles were coming briskly, but somewhere down the line, boundaries would have to be scored.
Thankfully for Dhaka, they started flowing, but Monir Khan trapped Nasir plumb in front to add to the excitement. The hulky Seekuge Prasanna was the next man in. With 12 runs required off the last 2 overs, it was Dhaka’s match to surrender.
Kamrul Islam Rabbi got rid of Mosaddek Hossain with Dhaka needing 5 runs from the last 7 balls. A bit of a stutter halted Dhaka’s innings as Sekkuge Prasanna fell short of the crease with Dhaka still requiring 4 off the last over.
D.J Bravo eventually finished it off with an inside-out shot off Thisara Perera. With this win, they made their way to the top of the table.
Man of the Match: Shakib-Al-Hasan
Brief Scores
Barisal Bulls
| Batsman | Runs | Bowlers | Figures |
| Mushfiqur Rahim | 36(30) | Abu Jayed | 1/12 |
| Rumman Raees | 25*(13) | Ravi Bopara | 1/23 |
| Nadif Chowdhury | 21(25 | Shakib-Al-Hasan | 1/31 |
| Total: 132/6 (20 overs) |
Dhaka Dynamites
| Batsman | Runs | Bowlers | Figures |
| Nasir Hossain | 34(29) | Taijul Islam | 2/19 |
| Kumar Sangakkara | 32(33) | Enamul Haque | 1/24 |
| Mosaddek Hossain | 23(20) | Kamrul Islam Rabbi | 1/14 |
| Total: 135/6 (19.2 overs) |
Dhaka Dynamites beat Barisal Bulls by 4 wickets
Chittagong Vikings versus Rangpur Riders
Rangpur Riders won the toss and elected to bat first. The likes of Mohammad Shahzad and Soumya Sarkar are known for power-hitting, but Chittagong didn’t allow them to free their arms in the first couple of overs.
The singles were eked out, but the boundaries weren’t flowing even with fielders inside the circle. The first 4 overs fetched 19 runs without the loss of a wicket. Soumya Sarkar pulled it back in the 5th over, plundering 14 runs of Mohammad Nabi. Shahzad, meanwhile, was struggling at the other end.
Sarkar, after playing a breezy knock of 26 off 21 balls, perished via a miss timed pull shot into the hands of the fielders. Rangpur had a steady start accumulating 36 runs from 6 overs. Shahzad continued throwing his bat around without much success.
Tamim Iqbal was there until the end for the Chittagong Vikings
Taskin Ahmed got the better of Mohammad Mithun who succumbed through an ugly hoick and then Mohammad through an attempted pressure-releasing stroke, gifting a much-needed breakthrough for the Vikings. At the end of 10 overs, Rangpur went along at a rate of 6.2 rpo, scoring 62 runs.
It was up to Naeem Islam and Liam Dawson to infuse impetus into the innings. Unfortunately, Naeem had to go off due to a back strain. That brought in the ferocious Shahid Afridi. The next 5 overs fetched 27 runs, taking down the rate to below 6.
Unlucky 13 turned detrimental for Afridi as he slapped a flat-batted stroke off Nabi, straight into the palms of deep extra cover. In the same over, Zakir Hasan pulled off a blinder in the outfield to dismiss Dawson and leave Rangpur at 98/5 with 4 overs to go.
Rangpur required a strong finish to post a competitive total. After Afridi’s demise, the innings went nowhere for the Riders as they hustled and bustled to a score of 124 in their allotted 20 overs. Late wickets didn’t help their cause either.
Chasing 125, Tamim Iqbal and Chris Gayle started off for the Vikings. Sohag Gazi had two loud shouts against Gayle, but without any joy. Tamim threw his bat along, but the Riders bowlers were frugal. Rangpur could only manage 13 runs in the first 3 overs.
Even though the Vikings weren’t motoring along at 30/0, Gayle and Tamim were starting to look ominous. Gayle put his side in the ascendancy by muscling Gazi for two sixes over the V in the front. Tamim continued to struggle, but he had the hulking Jamaican at the other end.
Chris Gayle went berserk smashing two humongous sixes, but Afridi got rid of the big fish, much to the relief of the Rangpur Riders. Nevertheless, Gayle had set up the chase for the Vikings with a cameo of 40 runs from 26 balls.
At the end of the 10 overs, the Vikings raced to 76/1 and with Tamim at the crease, things looked simple for the Vikings. Tamim Iqbal started hitting his straps as he peppered the boundaries quite frequently. Tamim Iqbal accomplished his half-century, a hard fought one, in 41 balls that included 7 boundaries and a massive six.
The writing on the wall was pretty visible for the Riders and Chittagong finished things off in the 16th over to demolish the Riders by 9 wickets. Chris Gayle set the platform and Anamul along with Tamim guided the Vikings past the target.
Man of the Match: Tamim Iqbal
Brief Scores
Rangpur Riders
| Batsman | Runs | Bowlers | Figures |
| Soumya Sarkar | 26(21) | Taskin Ahmed | 2/25 |
| Mohammad Shahzad | 21(28) | Mohammad Nabi | 2/25 |
| Anwar Ali | 20*(13) | Subhasis Roy | 1/17 |
| Total: 124/6 (20 overs) |
Chittagong Vikings
| Batsman | Runs | Bowlers | Figures |
| Tamim Iqbal | 62*(48) | Shahid Afridi | 1/25 |
| Chris Gayle | 40(26) | Sohag Gazi | 0/23 |
| Anamul Haque Bijoy | 22*(22) | Rubel Hossain | 0/17 |
| Total: 128/1 (16 overs) |
Chittagong Vikings beat Rangpur Riders by 9 wickets