Even the presence of a limping Mashrafe bin Mortaza was enough for Comilla Victorians to seal their fourth win in the third edition of the Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20. Defending a moderate total of 141/7 against Dhaka Dynamites at Chittagong’s Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday, the Victorians were victorious by 10 runs.
Young paceman Abu Haider Rony and Mashrafe bowled superbly 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 ease.
In pursuit 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.
Earlier, some lusty blows at the end from Pakistani-born English cricketer Ashar Zaidi helped the Victorians to a fighting total after struggling early on.
Zaidi remained unbeaten on 45 off just 29 balls, featuring three sixes and two fours, as Comilla added 60 runs in their last five overs to post a challenging total.
