Narail Cyclone blow away Chittagong Cyclone
April 13, 2010 00:00:00
Narail Express Mashrafe Bin Mortaza blew away Cyclone of Chittagong as the later crashed to a five wicket defeat against Sultans of Sylhet in the Destiny Group National Cricket League Twenty20 match that was held at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in the city Monday, reports BSS.
Sadly Cyclones of Chittagong also suffered their second defeat in a row as Tamim's XI were thrashed by six wickets yesterday in the inaugural match by Rajshahi Rangers.
Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, fresh from IPL instinct with Kolkata Knight Riders, though he did not play for them, had a point to prove his fitness, made no mistake to grab the opportunity as he hogged the headlines with a whirlwind 13 ball-26 runs and two wickets for 34 was good enough to beat the Chittagong side, who had Pakistani speedster Shoaib Akhtar among their ranks.
Sultans of Sylhet also had to overcome Tamim Iqbal's blitzkrieg as Tamim clobbered a rollicking 60-ball-91 runs knock but couldn't prevent the side from consecutive second defeat in the league within a span of just 24 hours.
The elegant left hander's solo effort set a platform for the port city team to put up 152 for seven in 20 overs with the second best coming from number seven batsman Nasir Hossain (24) whose knock enabled Chittagong to post total beyond 150 mark.
Sultans of Sylhet reached the winning target with seven balls to spare.
Tamim's heroics despite the crushing defeat might be the burning example of sheer bravery but no doubt the hero of the match was none other than Mashrafe Bin Mortoza, who came back in the competitive cricket with a bang.
Grabbing two wickets with his bowling including the prized scalp of Tamim and produced a quick-fire 13 ball-26 runs knock to change the complexion of the game completely.
The duel of Tamim and Mashrafe was worth watching as both tried to outwit each other. Tamim did all the dictation initially but Mashrafe had the last laugh depriving Tamim of his deserved century. Fittingly he was awarded man of the match later.
Citing Tamim's wicket as crucial later Mashrafe said, "We know what he is capable of doing. He could damage the bowling of any side in the world. When he was going on great gun we put pressure on the other batsmen, wickets fell at regular intervals so the scoring rate remained in reachable pace. We also did not allow Tamim to complete his ton thus giving us a psychological advantage."
On the way to his 60 ball-91 runs knock, Tamim smashed eight fours and four sixes.
Nasir Hossain hammered 24 off 14. Khurram Manzur was the other man to reach double digit figure (17) for Chittagong.
Mashrafe scalped two wickets while Farhad Reza, Rashed Hanif and Nazmul Hossain picked up one wicket apiece.
Shoaib Akhtar once again failed to impress as he remained wicketless giving away 29 runs in his four overs. Rubel Hossain was the successful bowler for Chittagong with two scalps.
When Cyclones of Chittagong tasted the second consecutive defeats, Khaled Mashud Pilot led Rajshahi Rangers kept on their winning spree in emphatic style.
In the day's other match at BKSP, Muktar Ali once again starred in Ranger's superb win as he captured five wickets for 22 runs to pave the way for the side to secure a 36-run win over Kings of Khulna.
After opting to bat first, Rajshahi amassed 177 for nine in 20 overs with opener Hannan Sarkar smashing 44 off 22 cracking eight fours and a six. Kings of Khulna were bowled out for 141 in 19.3 overs.
UNB adds: Former national skipper Mohammad Ashraful-led Dhaka Dynamites started the Destiny Group National Cricket League (NCL) T20 campaign on good note beating Shahriar Nafees-led Barisal Blazers by six wickets at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur Monday.
Sent in to bat first, Barisal Blazers scored 149 runs for 7 in stipulated 20 overs making 43 runs in the opening stand.
Middle order batsman Rakibul Hasan contributed 40-ball 43 runs with three fours and a six.
Besides, opener Nazimuddin scored 35 runs off 21 balls with eight fours, another opener Rony Talukder made 26 off 24 balls with a boundary while Mahmudul Hasan made 21 off 19 balls with three fours.
Chasing a target of 150 runs, Dhaka Dynamites scored 151 for 4 in 19.1 overs to win the match.
Opener Shamsur Rahman scored quick 41 runs off 23 balls with six fours and a six, and was adjudged man of the match.
National colour opener Jahirul Islam Omi scored 36 runs off 32 balls with one four and two sixes while Sri Lankan Jeevan Mendis made not out 29 off 27 balls with three fours.
National pacer Syed Rasel, Arafat Sunny and Rabiul Islam claimed one wicket each for 27, 27 and 35 runs.
Today’s (Tuesday's) matches: Rajshahi Rangers vs Barisal Blazers at 9:30 am (SBNCS), Cyclones of Chittagong vs Kings of Khulna at 2:20 pm (SBNCS), Sultans of Sylhet vs Dhaka Dynamites at 10:30 am (BKSP).