Cricket news - Comilla Victorians pip Dhaka in last-ball thriller

Comilla Victorians vs Dhaka Dynamites

Comilla Victorians moved to the top of the BPL standings with an exhilarating one-run victory over Dhaka Dynamites. The defeat, Dhaka's fifth on the trot, leaves them in danger of missing out on qualification to the playoffs. Chasing 127, Dhaka slipped to 29 for 4 before the Windies troika of Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell dared to bring them back from the brink.

They almost did. Russell was still around when Dhaka needed 12 to win off the final two deliveries bowled by the outstanding Mohammad Saifuddin (4 for 22). He dispatched the first one over long-off for six. But Saifuddin returned with a near-perfect yorker that Russell could only squeeze it out for a four. As Dhaka captain Shakib Al Hasan exclaimed later, it should have never got to the final ball. That it did was down to some lackadaisical batting by the top-order, chiefly the top-four. Mizanur Rahman, Upul Tharanga, Rony Talukdar managed a total of 24 runs between them. Narine added 42 with top-scorer Polard (34) before the baton was passed to Russell to script a miracle, which he so nearly did.

Earlier in the day, Dhaka produced an impressive bowling performance with Rubel Hossain claiming 4 for 30 to keep the Victorians down to 127. Tamim Iqbal made a brisk 38 at the top of the order but the middle-order caved leading to an almighty collapse. Comilla could have ended with a lower score had it not been for the 40 runs added by the last two partnerships involving Mahedi Hasan (20 off 15) and Wahab Riaz (16 off 12).

Brief scores: Comilla Victorians 127 in 20 overs (Tamim Iqbal 38, Mahedi Hasan 20; Rubel Hossain 4-30) beat Dhaka Dynamites 126/9 in 20 overs (Kieron Pollard 34, Andre Russell 30*; Mohammad Saifuddin 4-22) by 1 run.

Chittagong Vikings vs Sylhet Sixers

Andre Fletcher and Ebadat Hossain starred with bat and ball respectively as Sylhet Sixers ended their BPL 2019 campaign with a convincing 29-run victory over Chittagong Vikings. While the victory didn't change the fact that Sylhet stand eliminated from playoffs contention, the loss severely affects Chittagong's plans going forward , who have now missed out on a top-two finish and will have to take a longer route to play the final.

With the pressure of qualification lifted, Sylhet were able to present a confident front when Chittagong asked them to take first strike. Despite losing opening partner Andre Fletcher cheaply, Fletcher allowed no time for consolidation and scored a flurry of boundaries. He found able partners in Sabbir Rahman (32 off 25) and Mohammad Nawaz (34 off 19) who scored at a rapid pace allowing Fletcher to bat deep. The Windies opener eventually was fifth out for a 53-ball 66, an innings that powered the total to 165.

The total wasn't overly daunting but Chittagong it seem so by falling to 3/2 in seven balls of the chase. Yasir Ali and Mushfiqur Rahim put on a 42-run stand with Mosaddek Hossain adding another 35 with the captain thereafter, but Chittagong were crippled by the fact that no batsman went on to make his start count. Rahim's dismissal for a 32-ball 48 was the last straw as the rest of the line-up collapsed without any resistance, folding for 136 with 1.3 overs to spare. Ebadat Hossain was the pick of the bowlers, taking four wickets for 17 runs.

Brief scores: Sylhet Sixers 165/5 in 20 overs (Andre Fletcher 66, Mohammad Nawaz 34; Hardus Viljoen 4-29) beat Chittagong Vikings 136 in 18.3 overs (Mushfiqur Rahim 48; Ebadat Hossain 4-17) by 29 runs.