Mushfiqur Rahim has become the first batsman to notch a four-figure run tally in the Bangladesh Premier League as Barisal Bulls hunted down Chittagong Vikings to go top of the table with their third win.
After a gritty 75 from Vikings captain Tamim Iqbal set them on a 164-run chase, Barisal coasted to the win in the last over with seven wickets to spare at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Monday.
When the Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batsman walked out, Shahriar Nafees (65) and Dawid Malan (78 not out) had already put them on the brink with a colossal 150-run second wicket stand.
English opener Malan blasted three consecutive sixes in the 18th over but lost Shahriar and Thisara Perera (0) at the other end in successive balls. The match boiled down to Barisal needing seven from the final over with Mushfiqur (10 not out) on strike.
The 29-year-old stroked a double and then struck a boundary to become the first batsman to reach 1000 runs in the competition and level the scores. He then cracked another boundary to wrap things up with two balls to spare.
Staking his claim to be one of the best batsmen of the competition, the diminutive batsman now has 1005 runs from 35 innings, including seven half-centuries at 41.87.
In the first edition in 2012, he scored 234 in nine innings at 34. He did well a year later in the second edition, scoring 440 runs from 13 innings at 40. He smashed his best of 86 that season and was the top run scorer in it.
But Mushfiqur went through a poor season for Sylhet Superstars in the last edition, scoring just 157 runs at 26.16.
He was very keen to put last season’s failure behind him and return to his best in the fourth edition. He found himself at the crease early after the Bulls’ top order crumbled in the last three matches.
And the opportunities met his resolve. He began with an unbeaten 50 in the first match against Dhaka Dynamites and then scored 33 against Comilla Victorians.
In their third match against Rajshahi Kings, he fashioned a scintillating unbeaten 81 off 52 balls, which featured four sixes and five boundaries.
Mushfiqur smashed through the 1000-run barrier with the following pack all cruising in the 700s.
Shakib Al Hasan is second behind his Test captain with 775 runs with Anamul Haque (762) and Brad Hodge (756) closely following the ace allrounder. Mahmudullah is fifth with 743.
Among those who have more than 700 are Nasir Hossain (727), Shahriar (721) and Jahurul Islam (706).
Source: Bd news24
