A drama-filled hour was followed by a nail-biting contest as Chittagong Vikings edged Sylhet Superstars by one run to open their account in the Bangladesh Premier League in Dhaka on Monday.
The match was delayed for little over an hour due to a dispute over the No Objection Certificate of Superstars’ overseas cricketers and when play started finally it turned out to be an action-packed thriller.
Tamim Iqbal and Yasir Ali smashed two half-centuries to steer Vikings to 180-5 and Superstars nearly overturned it before being restricted to 179-6.
Vikings, who were at the receiving end of a similar thriller in the opening game, had Pakistani bowler Mohammad Amir to thank for holding his nerve in the crucial final over to snatch the win.
Superstars required nine runs from Amir’s final over with Bangladesh Test captain Mushfiqur Rahim and Sri Lankan Ajantha Mendis at the crease.
Amir left Mushfiq contended with just a single off the first ball and then bowled two dot balls to Mendis to take the contest to Vikings’ favour. By the time Mushfiq returned to the strike after a desperate single Superstars still needed seven runs from the last two balls.
Mushfiq drove Amir exquisitely for boundary through the cover in the fifth ball bringing the equation down to three runs for a win in the last ball. But Mushfiq, unbeaten on 50 off 34 balls, could just score one to leave Vikings winning the game by the minimum margin.
Earlier, Dilshan Munaweera set Superstars up nicely with 64 off 30 balls, which included six fours in one over of Tillakaratne Dilshan.
Munaweera, who completed his fifty off just 22 balls, was one of the two foreigners to play the game for Superstars alongside compatriot Mendis.
Superstars were given a special permission by the BPL authority to play with just Munaweera and Mendis though tournament rules require them to field four foreign players.
They had English player Joshua Cobb and Ravi Bopara at their disposal, but they could not play as the team could not produce their NOC before the toss, which was delayed by 26 minutes.
When Superstars finally took the field, Vikings captain Tamim Iqbal refused to play as the Sylhet side fielded Cobb and Bopara despite not mentioning their names in the original players’ list.
It made the game uncertain as Vikings stuck to their point. Superstars finally had to drop Cobb and Bopara from their lineup. An irritated Tamim, who was also reportedly upset by the behaviour of a Superstars owner, vented his anger at Superstars bowlers to hit 69 off 45 balls, his second half-century in as many matches.
Yasir Ali, who replaced Enamul Haque Jr in the starting line-up carried the innings after Tamim’s departure to hit 63 off 52 balls, which included three fours and four sixes.
Source: New Age
