The win helped Chittagong strengthen their position on the points table © Raton Gomes/BCB
Chittagong Vikings 174 for 5 (Delport 71, Rahim 43, Russell 3-38, Narine 2-20) beat Dhaka Dynamites 163 for 9 (Shakib 53, Russell 39, Jayed 3-25, Shanaka 2-34) by 11 runs
Cameron Delport contributed with bat and ball, and on the field, to lead Chittagong Vikings to an important 11-run win over Dhaka Dynamites in a Bangladesh Premier League match in Chattogram on Wednesday.
Batting first after winning the toss, Vikings started well with Mohammad Shahzad and Delport till Sunil Narine came in and had Shahzad stumped off his second ball. The scoring rate dipped after that, Vikings reaching the halfway stage with just 68 on the board. But they did have wickets in hand – nine of them – and Delport had hit his stride.
The partnership between Delport and Mushfiqur Rahim for the third wicket was an excellent one, and turned the tide away from Dhaka. The two of them added 79 in just seven-and-a-half overs before Andre Russell turned the game around in the final over of the innings.
Not any of his first three deliveries of the final over were particularly threatening, but each of them got him a wicket. Rahim first miscued a full toss down Shuvagata Hom’s throat at long-on, and Delport, next ball, sent Russell to the same fielder after not failing to get hold of one in the slot. Two in two, which became three in three as Dasun Shanaka attempted a scoop but only sent it as far as Mizanur Rahman at short fine-leg.
At various points of their chase, the Dynamites looked likely to pull it off.
When Shakib Al Hasan and Nurul Hasan were together for the fourth wicket, for example, and had added 50 runs before Delport sent Nurul back lbw. To make matters worse for the Dynamites, Kieron Pollard ran himself out next ball, leaving Dhaka 73 for 5.
But Russell joined Shakib for a quick 66-run stand after that, with Russell hitting 39 in just 23 balls. He was dismissed, caught by Delport off Shanaka, but Shakib carried on, and brought the equation down to 21 from ten ball before holing out off Shanaka after scoring 53 in 42 balls.
That left the remaining Dhaka batsmen with too much to do, and they fell short in the end.
Andre Russell put in a strong all-round performance © Raton Gomes/BCB
Turning points
- Rahim was the man Delport needed at the other end when the game was nicely balanced – Vikings 107 for 2 after 14 overs. Rahim took off with a six over fine-leg to a Rubel Hossain bouncer, and the scoring picked up in a big way after that, despite a quiet over from Narine and Russell’s hat-trick towards the end.
- With Nurul striking the ball well and Shakib settling down nicely, Dynamites were on track for the big chase, but Delport was in the thick of the action again, trapping Nurul plumb in front to break the flow. Next ball, Pollard was run out.
- Shakib had been dropped earlier in his innings, but had got his teeth into the chase, speeding up after losing Russell and keeping the Dynamites on target despite a steep asking rate. He had to be stopped if the Vikings wanted to have a shot, and Shanaka did the trick with a slower off-cutter, which Shakib could only send high as opposed to long, and Nayeem Hasan held on gleefully.
Star of the day
He scored at a strike-rate of 124.56, but Delport’s innings was outstanding in the context of the game, as he batted from the start till the second ball of the final over, scoring 71 off 57 balls and never quite letting the Dhaka bowlers gain the upper hand. He was clinical with his slower variations too, getting rid of the dangerous-looking Nurul and conceding just 31 runs in his four overs.
The big miss
Pollard, first ball, tapped Delport to cover and went for the run. Shakb, from the other end, hollered ‘no, no, no’, but Pollard paid no heed, completed his half of the run, and continued his jog to the dugout. At that stage, Pollard might have been able to make a difference.
Where they stand
Vikings stayed at third place on the table, now level on points with Comilla Victorians, though after playing one extra match and with an inferior net run-rate. The loss wasn’t ideal for the Dynamites, who are in fourth place, with ten points from ten games.
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo