Comilla Victorians produced a commanding display of batting and defeated Rangpur Riders by eight wickets to reach the final of the BPL 6 at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla national stadium on Monday.
Chasing 166, Comilla reached their target losing only two wickets with seven balls to spare.
Opener Evin Lewis led the chase with an unbeaten 71-run innings. The other opener Tamim Iqbal scored 17. While Anamul Haque Bijoy scored 39 and Shamsur Rahman Shuvo played a little cameo of 34 ff just 15 balls to ensure victory for the Victorians.
Earlier, Rangpur scored 165 losing five wickets riding on Benny Howell’s brilliant 53 off 28 balls. In form Rilee Rossouw scored 44 while Chris Gayle scored 46 for the Riders.
Evin Lewis was adjudged man-of-the-match for his unbeaten 71 run innings.
Playing XI of Rangpur Riders and Comilla Victorians #RRvCV
— Bangladesh Cricket (@BCBtigers) February 4, 2019
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Mithun sacrifices his wicket for Gayle
Rangpur got off to a slow start against Comilla and a mix-up between Mohammad Mithun and Chris Gayle cost them a wicket in the sixth over. Gayle played a sweep and tried to take a single but hesitation between the two batsmen caused a run-out as Mithun ran to wicket-keeper’s end despite knowing he would not make it. Perhaps he sacrificed his wicket for big-hitter Gayle. Meanwhile, the keeper threw to other end after dislodging the bails in Mithun’s end and Gayle was also run-out in the bowler’s end. But Mithun was run out first, so Gayle survived. Eventually Gayle scored 46 off 44 balls.
Wahab drops Rossouw
Fielding was sloppy from Comilla as they dropped a few catches and conceded some extra runs which helped Rangpur produce a good total in the end. Perhaps Wahab Riaz’s missed catch was the most costly one as the Pakistani dropped in-form Rilee Rossouw. Rossouw was batting on 19 off 17 balls and Rangpur were 80 for 4 after 13 overs. The wicket of Rossouw could have dented Rangpur’s charge then but eventually Rossouw scored 44 and formed a crucial 76-run partnership with Benny Howell.
Howell scores a vital half-century
There was no AB de Villiers or Alex Hales for Rangpur and they had a slow start against Comilla in the first qualifier. But all-rounder Benny Howell played an outstanding innings to help Rangpur post a challenging 165 runs on the board. Howell formed a vital partnership with Rossouw and took the charge to score some quick runs in the slog overs. He remained unbeaten on 53 off just 28 balls with three fours and five sixes.
Lewis-Anamul lead the way for Comilla
Comilla opener Evin Lewis played a superb knock and guided his team to reach the target with seven balls to spare. Lewis formed a 90-run partnership with Anamul Haque for the second wicket and that partnership helped Comilla chase down a challenging total. The 90-run partnership came in 62 balls. Anamul got out after scoring 39 off 32 balls with two fours and two sixes but Lewis ensured the win by remaining not out in the end and scored 71 off 53 balls with five fours and three sixes.
Player of the match - Evin Lewis#BPL #BPLseason6 pic.twitter.com/aEPKHTW6RL
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BPL standing
Comilla now qualified for the final while Rangpur Riders will face Dhaka Dynamites in the second eliminator on Wednesday.
Comilla Victorians won by 8 wickets against Rangpur Riders #CVvRR#BPL #BPLSeason6 pic.twitter.com/bDxS9L4Is1
— BPLT20 (@Official_BPLT20) February 4, 2019
QUALIFIER 1, CVvRR
RANGPUR RIDERS INNINGS R B
Gayle c Perera b Mahedi 46 44
Maruf c Sanjit b Wahab 1 3
Mithun run out (Tamim) 3 3
Rossouw c Anamul b Saifuddin 44 31
Bopara c Anamul b Sanjit 3 9
Howell not out 53 28
Nahidul not out 6 3
Extras (b 5, lb 1, nb 1, w 2) 9
Total (20 Overs) 165/5
Fall Of Wickets
1-17 (Maruf), 2-34 (Mithun), 3-67 (Gayle), 4-76 (Bopara), 5-146 (Rossouw)
Bowling
Saifuddin 4-0-42-1, Mahedi 4-0-28-1, Wahab 4-0-49-1, Sanjit 4-0-14-1, Afridi 3-0-19-0, Perera 1-0-7-0
COMILLA VICTORIANS INNINGS R B
Tamim c Howell b Mashrafe 17 14
Lewis not out 71 53
Anamul b Shafiul 39 32
Shamsur not out 34 15
Extras (lb 1, nb 1, w 3) 5
Total (18.5 Overs) 166/2
Fall Of Wickets
1-35 (Tamim), 2-125 (Anamul)
Bowling
Nahidul 3-0-18-0, Gazi 2-0-15-0, Mashrafe 4-0-43-1, Farhad 2.5-0-29-0, Howell 2-0-19-0, Shafiul 3-0-21-1, Bopara 2-0-20-0
Comilla Victorians won by eight wickets
MoM: Evin Lewis (CV)