Dynamites thrash struggling Victorians

Reigning champions Comilla Victorians continued their sloppy run in this season of the Bangladesh Premier League as they suffered a 32-run defeat against the Dhaka Dynamites in Mirpur today. 

The win has helped Dhaka become the third team to secure at least ten points after the Rangpur Riders and the Khulna Titans and they are currently placed second below the Titans who have 12 points. 

Mashrafe Bin Mortaza’s Comilla, on the other hand, are rock bottom with just 2 points in eight matches. 

Batting first the Dynamites finished on 170 for 4 after 20 overs with ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan leading the batting card with a 26-ball 41. It was in fact because of Shakib’s blitz towards the end that the Dynamites managed to post a total past the 160-mark.

After Mehedi Maruf got stumped in the fifth over for 22 off 17, Sri Lankan legends Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene shared a 45-run stand for the second wicket before both batsmen got bowled by Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan, who was Comilla’s best bowler of the day with figures of 2 for 26 in four overs. 

At the end of 15 overs Dhaka were poised at 109 for 3 and they didn’t seem like reaching the 170-mark. However, in the last five overs, Dhaka scored 61 runs, 30 off which were scored by Shakib. 

The highlight of his knock came in the 19th over when he dispatched Mohammad Sharif for a four and a six down the order. 

After the exchange, Dwayne Bravo scalped three wickets while Seekuge Prasanna, Mohammad Shahid, Nasir Hossain, Shakib and Abu Jayed took one each to restrict the Victorians to 138 for 8 at the end of 20 overs. Their top scorer was Khalid Latif who scored 38 off 33.