Dhaka Dynamites formed a formidable squad with several T20 specialists including the likes of all-rounders Shakib al Hasan, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Shahid Afridi and Kevon Cooper and opener Evin Lewis, among others.
But they failed to pass their last hurdle as the mighty Chris Gayle smashed 18 sixes against them to rewrite the record book of BPL history.
Too many options in terms of overseas players might have caused some confusion for Dhaka while the young local players got few chances to shine for the star-studded team.From the local players’ point of view, pacer Abu Haider Rony bowled beautifully in BPL 5 and took 15 wickets in his 13 innings at an economy rate of 7.6.
Lewis was the best batsman for Dhaka as he played some brilliant innings throughput the tournament, giving good starts to his side more often than not. The left-hander scored 396 runs, second highest in the tournament, at an average of 36 and strike rate of 159.03. But the southpaw failed to produce an aggressive innings in the grand finale when Dhaka had to chase down a mammoth 207-run target.
Pakistan all-rounder Afridi performed well with the ball, bagging 15 wickets in just eight innings at an economy rate of seven. But Afridi, often referred to as Boom Boom Afridi, scored only 126 runs in eight innings at an average of just 15.75.Impressive performersShakib al Hasan (Local)The No 1 all-rounder of the world produced some good performances with both bat and the leather in BPL 5. He became the highest wicket-taker of the tournament after taking 22 wickets in 13 innings at an impressive economy rate of 6.49. In the final, Shakib bowled well in his first spell of two overs, conceding only 7 runs, including a wicket maiden. But later, he was smashed for 19 runs by Gayle in the last over of the innings. Shakib also scored 211 with the willow in 13 innings at an average of 23.44.Sunil Narine (Overseas)The West Indies finger spinner bowled brilliantly in almost every match he played. The mystery spinner took 11 wickets in 12 innings. But the most stunning fact is his economy rate, which is just 4.95 in 45.1 overs, outstanding in a T20 tournament. Even in the final when Gayle smashed 18 sixes against the Dhaka bowlers, Narine gave away only 18 runs in his quota of four overs. Narine has also developed his batting quite brilliantly in recent years as he scored 200 runs in 10 innings at a strike rate of 147.05.Unimpressive performersMohammad Amir (Overseas)Pakistan paceman Amir joined the team in the middle stage of BPL 5. He played only three matches and took just four wickets at an economy rate of 6.41. The fast bowler was one of the major signings for Dhaka but due to team combination and slow pitches, the left-arm quick got less game time. But still, a lot was expected form the speedster as he has a very good record in Bangladesh as a bowler.Mehedi Maruf (Local)Top-order batsman Maruf played well in BPL 4 and even came close to national team contention. But this year’s BPL campaign did not go all too well for the right-handed opener as he played only six matches and scored 54 runs with a highest score of 33. The local boy got little chance to shine but failed to impress during his six knocks.
Monday, March 24, 2025
