Cumilla win following a dramatic final over

A last over drama saw Cumilla Warriors win by two wickets against Chattogram Challengers in the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BBPL) at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur today.

Chasing a 159 for six posted by Chattogram Challengers, Cumilla Warriors required 17 runs in the final over with four wickets in hand. Cumilla would have wanted Dawid Malan to play out the final over but it was Abu Hider who struck a four and followed it up with another six after Malan had taken a single in the first delivery. Malan however got back to strike after Hider sneaked a single in the fourth delivery but he fell to a run-out when he tried to steal a double in the penultimate delivery. However, there was still a lot of drama left. After Malan's dismissal, Sunzamul Islam who had walked in on the ground was called back by the team management as they preferred Mujueeb Ur Rahman to face the final delivery of the game. However, as Sunzamul had already walked in on the ground, he was later ruled as retired out. After that with three required off the final delivery, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, the new batsman in, became the hero when he flicked a low full toss from Liam Plunkett through midwicket for a boundary.

Cumilla got off to a decent start but lost opener Stiaan van Zyl in the fourth over after a quick-fire 12-ball 22. It was however, once again a Dawid Malan blitz that helped Cumilla register their third victory of the tournament. Malan, who walked in after Stiaan’s dismissal, was dismissed in the final over after a match-winning 51-ball 74.

Earlier, Chattogram Challengers collapsed after a brilliant start by the openers -- Lendl Simmons and Junaid Siddique. The pair added 103 runs in 11.3 overs for the opening stand before Simmons was dismissed for a 34-ball 54 that featured five fours and two maximums. Siddique fell in the very next over to a run-out after scoring a 37-ball 45. It all went downhill for the table-toppers from then as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. However, an unbeaten 21-ball 34 from the new inclusion Ziaur Rahman helped Chattogram post a challenging total. For Cumilla, Soumya Sarkar returned impressive figures of two for 20 in four overs while Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who was wicket-less, remained economical, giving away just 18 runs in four overs.