Unbeaten half centuries from Marlon Samuels and Mashrafe bin Mortaza guided Comilla Victorians to their maiden win in the Bangladesh Premier League after they beat Chittagong Vikings by seven wickets at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday.
The Samuels-Mashrafe pair added a match winning 123 runs in the fourth wicket to chase down the target with seven balls to spare after Chittagong had posted 176/4 riding on a blistering 16-ball 39 from Ziaur Rahman.
The start, however, was a depressing for Comilla who lost both the openers inside 10 runs before Shuvagata Hom entertained the crowd with a quick 30 off 16 balls. Mashrafe surprised the opposition by promoting himself to No 5, but the way he batted gave no impression of any gamble.
His calculative innings wore the look of composure which was well complimented by the dangerous West Indian partner he had in the middle. The pair picked up that odd boundary in the over, took the calculative risk and accelerated their innings to perfection as Comilla finsihed the game with Mashrafe on 56 and Samuels on 69.
“I did score a fifty in club cricket before but I never thought of finishing the game as I often get out before that. But it’s because of Samuels I controlled myself as our plan was if we need quick runs he was going to charge from the other end and Samuels made things easy after he charged Shafiul in the 18th over. I had the trust on him so I was willing to give Samuels the strike more often,” said Mashrafe.
Mashrafe sliced Mohammad Amir for a four through third-man to land the win and followed it up by a crazy celebration. “You must have noticed my celebration after winning the game and it felt great honestly. I don’t get excited if I win a game for my side with the bat as my main job is bowling. But it was a different scenario.”
Earlier, Tamim Iqbal and Tillakaratne Dilshan provided yet another a solid start after Viking were put in to bat first. Both departed in their thirties but ensured 62 runs at the top. Zia smashed three massive sixes and two fours to end the Vikings on a high note.
The second defeat in three matches, things look tight for the Chittagong outfit who will face favourites Dhaka Dynamites tomorrow. Comilla will look to build on the momentum when they take on Barisal Bulls today.
