Comilla confirm BPL final

Comilla Victorians handed Rangpur Riders a 72-run thrashing to book their place in the final match of BPL-2015 on December 15.

Abu Hider and Ashar Zaidi took four wickets each to derail Rangpur’s chase under the lights at Mirpur.

Lendl Simmons’ 25 was the highest score for Rangpur on a disastrous day when only two other batters reached double figures.

Arafat Sunny was the last wicket to fall, and his dismissal sent the entire Comilla team into a wild celebration. Comilla were too good for Rangpur in this first qualifier.

Ashar Zaidi came back late and picked up his fourth wicket. Darren Sammy was the ninth man down after Zaidi’s arm ball disturbed his furniture.

Abu Hider picked up his third scalp in the 15th over, when Rangpur’s Thisara Perera was bowled neck and croft for 11. Comilla have one foot already in the final.

Perera was the eighth wicket to fall for the Riders on this miserable day.

Andre Russell got in the act of waking wickets on a day when Rangpur batters collapsed in a heap. He sent back Al-amin with a slower ball in the 14th over to bring the end of this one-sided match closer.

Ashar Zaidi picked up his third wicket of the match, and probably hammered the final nail in Rangpur’s coffin with Jahurul Islam’s dismissal.

Jahurul fell for nine in the 12th over, and left the field shaking his head in disappointment. Zaidi gave away only seven runs in three overs for his three wickets. Simply briiliant from the Pakistani allrounder!

Mashrafe came on to bowl in the 11th over and gave his team the breakthrough with Mohammad Nabi’s wicket. Nabi sliced the ball straight to point after scoring 12 runs.

Ashar Zaidi rocked Rangpur to the core when he took two wickets in two balls in the eighth over to place his team Comilla firmly in the driver’s seat.

Shakib Al Hasan was gone first ball. Silly cricket from the skipper, as he skipped down the track, picked up the length ball from Zaidi and swatted it straight to Mahmudul Hasan at deep midwicket.

Shakib’s wretched form with the bat continues…

Mohammad Mithun got himself in a tangle when he failed to connect with his booming drive, and was easily stumped by Liton. Zaidi saw him coming and bowled it outside off. Great stuff from Zaidi!

Mithun only scored five runs.

Rangpur Riders struggled in their chase of 164 early after a two-wicket burst by Abu Hider gave Comilla Victorians the upper hand.

Abu Hider Rony you beauty…two in two and Riders are reeling! The Comilla pacer bowled Lendl Simmons of Rangpur with a fantastic ball, and the entire Mirpur crowd are on their feet.

Simmons started to look good with a flurry of boundaries, scored 25 from 20 balls.

Comilla bowler Abu Hider got the big fish, Rangpur opener Soumya Sarkar falls in the fifth over after scoring only nine runs.

The fielder ran forward and took a good sliding catch. Shuvagata was delighted after the catch and deservedly so.

Rarlier, unbeaten 40 from 25 balls from the bat of Ashar Zaidi muscled Comilla Victorians to a challenging total of 163 against Rangpur Riders.

Zaidi held one end secured when wickets fell in a heap late in the innings, and opened up his shoulders at the most opportune moment. He smashed four fours and two sixes, and gave the big overs Comilla needed so desperately today.

Mohammad Nabi got the last wicket to fall for Comilla when Shuvagata Hom was stumped, after scoring 12 useful runs.

Thisara Perera completed his five-for and gave his team the crucial breakthroughs to stall Comilla’s progress.

Alok Kapali fell in the 18 th over when he gave a dolly catch at deep extra cover to Al-Amin. The slower ball worked again for Thisara, and completed a fine day for the allrounder.

He finished his four over spell, gave away 26 runs and captured five wickets.

A three-wicket burst in the 16th over by Rangpur Thisara Perera knocked the stuffing out of Comilla’s innings.

Andre Russell, the big man gone with the slower ball. It was a back of length delivery on off from Perera, the West Indian tried to go over mid-wicket, only got a top-edge to fall for three runs. His absence might hurt Comilla in the death overs.

Ahmed Shehzad became Perera’s second victim of the over when the Pakistani batter was trapped in front of the wicket. Golden duck for Shshezad and wheels have come off Comilla’s wagon!

Perera gets Imrul. Rangpur needed that badly. The slower ball was spooned back to bowler. Thisara didn’t make any mistake.

Imrul played brilliantly for his 67 from 48 balls with seven fours and two sixes punctuating his knock.

Comilla’s innings got the initial thrust from Imrul Kayes. He was uncommonly aggressive at the onset, and picked up the odd boundary as he motored along.

Victorians opener Imrul brought up his fifty off only 33 balls. He smashed six fours and a six during his stay at the wicket.  

Rangpur clawed back onto the match after the two quick wickets, but Comilla still had the big hitters still waiting in the dug-out, waiting to have a crack at the Riders.

Mashrafe Mortaza’s promotion up the order after Liton was dismissed was a dismal failure. Comilla captain was sent back for one by Rangpur’s Sri Lankan allrounder Thisara Perera.

The first wicket stand between Imrul and Liton was stopped in the 11th over, not before it produced 79 runs and gave Comilla a strong platform to accelerate later in the innings.

Saqlian Sajib foxed Liton Das when the batsman went down the wicket too early, missed the ball only to see Mithun complete the stumping behind the wicket.

Liton played second fiddle to Imrul, scored 28 from 37 balls with a four to his name.

Comilla openers Imrul Kayes and Liton Das took on the Rangpur bowlers early, played some handsome shots and kept the score board galloping along at a fine rate.

They were particularly severe on the slow bowlers of Rangpur, and even belted some cracking boundaries of Shakib Al Hasan.

Shakib Al Hasan, captain of Rangpur Riders won the toss and decided to field first against Comilla Victorians in the first qualifier of BPL-2015.

Both captains would want the pitch to be more conducive for stroke-play, and provide good bounce that encourages bowlers to fancy their chances in any form of cricket. With the evening dew, the pitch behaves slightly differently under the lights, with the ball skidding on, rather than gripping on the surface.

Comilla have looked the most professional side in this year’s BPL, and captain Mashrafe Mortaza cannot allow his side to become complacent in this knock-out stage. They won seven games out of ten, but more importantly, local and foreign players have performed under pressure more often than not.

The Victorians’ bowling spearhead Abu Hider has 17 wickets from ten games in BPL-2015. He is the joint top wicket-taker with Rangpur skipper Shakib. Hider conceded less than seven runs per over and gave his side crucial breakthroughs both with the new and old ball.

Comilla’s most effective allrounder, Ashar Zaidi is the second highest wicket-taker for his team with 12 wickets from nine games, and the third highest run-getter with 159 runs at a decent strike-rate of 126.

In terms of batting, Comilla has Imrul Kayes and Ahmed Shehzad in good form, and their lower order is privileged with some terrific power-hitters like Andre Russell, Shoaib Malik and Zaidi.

Although Rangpur Riders have the same number of wins as Comillla, they were far more inconsistent, and relied on individual brilliance to bail them out of jail far too often for their liking. Shakib would want Rangpur to raise the standards of batting, bowling and fielding to the level where they can dominate in the field.

Rangpur players celebrate the fall of wicket during BPL-2015. File Photo: STAR

Shakib is the leading wicket-taker for his side, and has the likes of Arafat Sunny and Thisara Perera giving him vital breakthroughs throughout this year’s BPL. Sunny took 15 wickets in nine matches while Perera has 12 in ten.

Batting has been the Achilles Heel for Rangpur Riders, with players like Soumya Sarkar, Lendl Simmons, Jahurul Islam, Mohammad Mithun and Shakib yet to hit a purple patch in this tournament.

Batting might be the key for Riders, and their fans would want the stars to light up Mirpur today.

The first qualifier of BPL-2015 brought the top two teams, Rangpur Riders and Comilla Victorians head to head for a place in the final.

Rangpur Riders skipper was upbeat and looked forward to the all-important clash with Comilla Victorians led superbly by Mashrafe Mortaza.

Comilla Victorians

Abu Hider, Ahmed Shehzad, Alok Kapali, Ariful Haque, Ashar Zaidi, Dhiman Ghosh, Imrul Kayes, KMDN Kulasekara, Liton Das (Wicketkeeper), Mahmudul Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza (Captain), Mukhtar Ahmed, Naeem Islam jnr, AD Russell, Shoaib Malik, Shuvagata Hom, DI Stevens, Sunzamul Islam

Rangpur Riders

Abdullah Al Mamun, Abu Jayed, Al-Amin, Arafat Sunny, Jahurul Islam, Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Mithun (Wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nabi, Muktar Ali, Murad Khan, NLTC Perera, DJG Sammy, Saqlain Sajib, SMSM Senanayake, Shakib Al Hasan (Captain), LMP Simmons, Soumya Sarkar, Wahab Riaz

Liton Das gives his team Comilla Victorians a superb start with 42 from 24 balls against Sylhet Super Stars in the 14th match of BPL-2015. File Photo: STAR