Chittagong Vikings 161 for 3 (Tamim 54, Malik 42*) beat Comilla Victorians 132 for 8 (Shanto 54*, Nabi 4-24) by 29 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
File photo – Mohhamad Nabi took four wickets as Chittagong strangled Comilla Victorians’ chase © ICC/Sportsfile
Chittagong Vikings sent out an early warning as they beat defending champions Comilla Victorians by 29 runs in the tournament’s opening game. After Tamim Iqbal and Shoaib Malik helped them set up a fighting total, Man of the Match Mohammad Nabi took control of the game with his four-wicket haul.
Tamim Iqbal sped to 50 off 32 balls with his team score on 69 for 1 at the end of the ninth over. But he was having trouble running between the wickets with Anamul Haque and, almost predictably, the second-wicket pair had a meltdown when Tamim ran for a second despite Anamul calling no after pushing to long-on.
Tamim, who was dropped earlier on 23 by Nahidul Islam running back from cover, was furious as he fell for 54 off 38 balls, studded with two sixes – over long-off and cover – and six attractive boundaries. Anamul was also run out when he backed up too far in the hunt for a single. Marlon Samuels, running in from midwicket, struck down the stumps at the non-striker’s end.
Chittagong’s innings looked in danger of getting derailed, but Shoaib Malik and Jahurul Islam added 60 runs for an unbroken fourth-wicket stand that took the Vikings to 161. Malik struck two fours and two sixes in his 28-ball 42, while Jahurul contributed 29 off 21 balls. The unbroken partnership meant that Chittagong were deprived of Mohammad Nabi’s big-hitting prowess in the slog overs, but the Afghanistan allrounder made up with the ball.
He removed Liton Das and the dangerous Ashar Zaidi in the eighth and tenth overs respectively, to reduce Comilla to 58 for four, after Imrul Kayes had fallen early to a reckless waft outside off against Dwayne Smith, and Marlon Samuels had chipped a catch to short midwicket off Abdur Razzak.
Mashrafe Mortaza, who promoted himself to No. 6 to breathe life into the faltering chase, fell to Tymal Mills in and was followed into the dressing room by Imad Wasim four balls later.
Nabi picked up his third and fourth wickets off consecutive deliveries in his last over, by bowling Al-Amin and trapping Sohail Tanvir in front. Debutant Nazmul Hossain Shanto (54*), who had watched his team crumble around him after coming in at No. 4, provided some late entertainment for the half-packed stadium, hitting Taskin Ahmed for four boundaries in a row in the last over to bring up his fifty. But it all came too late for Comilla.
Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo’s Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo