Skipper Darren Sammy’s unbeaten late cameo was brilliantly complemented by pace bowler Mohammad Sami as Rajshahi Kings brought high-flying Comilla Victorians down to earth with a 30-run win in Chittagong on Saturday.
Sammy struck Comilla pacer Mohammad Saifuddin for 32 runs with four massive sixes in the final over of their innings on his way to 47 off just 14 balls, which propelled Kings to 185-7 at the end of 20 overs.
Despite Sammy’s late blitz, Kings needed a special effort from bowler Sami, who derailed Comilla with a three-wicket burst in one over before finishing with 4-9.
In another boost for Kings, Mustafizur Rahman returned to action for the first time in the season after his injury woes to claim the final wicket as Comilla were all out for 155 in 19.1 overs.
Comilla lost Fakhar Zaman (2) and Imrul Kayes (0) early but skipper Tamim Iqbal and Shoaib Malik brought their innings back on track with 87-run third wicket stand.
Caribbean all-rounder Dwayne Smith broke the partnership with a catch off his own bowling as Malik left after making 45 runs off 26 deliveries with five fours and two sixes.
Comilla were still in the hunt but Sami produced an extraordinary over to get rid of Tamim, Alok Kapali (0) and Saifuddin (0) in the space of five deliveries to change the course of the game.
Tamim, who was struggling to score runs in his last three matches, entertained his local fans with 63 runs off 45 balls before he was caught by Smith at cover.
Comilla could not recover from the triple blows as they lost their last seven wickets for 30 runs to suffer their first defeat after five consecutive wins. Mustafiz finished with 2-32 playing his first match in BPL in two years.
‘I think we were out of the match when Sami [Mohammad] bowled such over,’ said Comilla pacer Al-Amin Hossain. ‘We were very much in the match until that over. All of their bowlers had an economy rate of 10 to 12 except Sami, who conceded only 9 to 10 [nine runs] runs in his four overs. I think Sami has made the difference.’
Earlier, opting to bat first Rajshahi were heading towards mediocrity despite Mominul Haque (23 ff 16) balls, Luke Wright (42 off 36 balls) and Zakir Hasan (20 off 15) balls making a decent contribution at the top of the order.
But Sammy chose this game to show his ability as a powerful striker of the ball when he struck Saifuddin four sixes, a four and doubles to set up a challenging target for the former champions.
Saifuddin, who conceded 18 runs in his first three overs and picked three vital wickets, gave away 32 runs in the final over – the worst in BPL history, which came in less than a month after he received a similar hammering from South African David Miller in international Twenrty20.
Brief Scores
Rajshahi Kings 185-7 in 20 overs (Sammy 47 not out, Wright 42, Mominul 23; Saifuddin 3-50, Hasan 2-38) v Comilla Victorians 155 in 19.1 overs (Tamim 63, Malik 45; Sami-4-9, Smith 2-27, Mustafiz 2-32)
Result: Rajshahi Kings won by 30 runs.
Man of the match: Darren Sammy (Rajshahi Kings)
Source: New Age.
