Joy fifty, Narine cameo help Comilla win thriller 

After a fifty from Mahmudul Hasan Joy, an impactful unbeaten cameo by Sunil Narine saw Comilla Victorians snatch away a victory from Sylhet Sunrisers' grasp during a thrilling Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) encounter under lights at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium today. Comilla won the encounter by four wickets. 

Narine scored 24 off just 12 deliveries at the death as Comilla chased down Sylhet's 169 for five with just a ball to spare. 

When Alauddin Babu removed Joy and Ariful Haque in successive deliveries in the 18th over, it seemed like Comilla would end up short. However, with 22 needed off the final two overs, Narine smashed Aks Swadhin for two boundaries and a maximum off the penultimate over to take the equation down to just three needed off the final over. 

Abu Hider scored the winning runs in style, smashing Babu for a boundary through fine leg as Sylhet succumbed to their seventh defeat in nine outings. 

Before Narine's carnage, it was however a valiant 50-ball 65 from opener Joy that kept Comilla in the game. After two early wickets, Joy and Moeen Ali consolidated through a 82-run third-wicket stand as Comilla stayed on course for a victory. 

Moeen was dismissed in the 14th over following a 35-ball 46, laced with four boundaries and two maximums.    

Earlier, after being asked to bat, Sylhet's Colin Ingram, who had missed out on a ton by just 10 runs the previous night during a game against Fortune Barishal, once again came agonisingly close of picking up his maiden BPL ton against Comilla today. 

Sylhet Sunrisers' Colin Ingram plays a shot. Photo: Firoz Ahmed

Ingram and Anamul Haque gave Sylhet a blistering start, stitching together a 105-run opening stand -- the third 100-run opening stand in this edition of BPL. 

Ingram looked to have picked up from where he had left on Tuesday as the left-hander remained aggressive from the beginning. He smashed left-arm spinner Tanvir Islam for three fours and a maximum in the fifth over, accumulating a total of 19 runs in that over. 

Anamul, too, picked up the pace after a rather steady beginning. The right-hander seemed to have gotten into the groove when he smashed Narine for a maximum in the ninth over and followed it up with two more sixes off Moeen Ali in the very next over. 

However, Anamul could not carry on for long as he was caught at mid off of a Mustafizur Rahman delivery in the 13th over. 

Comilla managed to slow down the flow of runs with a few wickets in quick succession in the middle. However, Ingram's blistering knock that featured nine boundaries and three maximums only ended in the final over of the game off the bowling of Mustafizur but the boundary-laden innings ensured Sylhet ended with a competitive total.