Chittagong Vikings edge Sylhet Superstars in a thrilling 1-run win

Chittagong Vikings have held on to last-over nerves to register their first win of the 2015 Bangladesh Premier League by beating Sylhet Superstars by 1 run.

Sports Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 23 Nov 2015, 02:48 PM
Updated : 23 Nov 2015, 02:58 PM

This is the first time a BPL match has been decided by such a slim margin. Khulna and Rajshahi franchises had registered victories by 2 runs in the 2012 and 2013 editions of BPL, respectively.

The Vikings lost a last-ball thriller against Rangpur Riders in the opening match of the competition on Sunday.

Half-centuries from captain Tamim Iqbal (69) and Yasir Ali Chowdhury (63) propelled the Chittagong team to 180 for 5 before some fine bowling from Shafiul Islam and Mohammad Amir took them to the win on Monday.

The Superstars needed 9 runs off Amir's last over.

Captain Mushfiqur Rahim (50 not out) took a single off the first ball but got stuck at the non-striker's end for the next two as Ajantha Mendis (1) failed to connect with the bat.

They managed to scamper a bye after Mendis swung and missed Amir's fourth delivery before Mushfiq hammered the next delivery over cover for a boundary as the match boiled down to the last ball.

They needed three runs to win or two runs to take the game to a super over. Amir delivered full outside offstump that Mushfiq could only drive straight to cover for a single to complete a 34-ball fifty as the Superstars ended on 179 for 6.

Dilshan Munaweera (64 off 30) had set the Superstars' chase off to a blistering start when he milked compatriot Tillakaratne Dilshan for six consecutive fours in the second over.

Junaid Siddque contributed 5 in a 66-run opening stand with Munaweera before the former was dismissed by Shafiul.
The Sri Lankan opener blazed to his half-century off just 22 balls before Saeed Ajmal got him and then Mominul Haque in the last ball of the over.
Nurul Hasan made a quickfire 20-ball 32 bludgeoning Taskin Ahmed for 18 in the 13th over with a six and two boundaries before Shaiful trapped him in front.
Nazmul Hossain Milon (9) and Mohammad Shahid (3) soon perished with the Superstars still 21 runs shy of the target.
Shafiul was adjudged Man-of-the-Match for his 3 for 25 in 4 overs. Ajmal chipped in with two wickets while Amir went wicketless but conceded just 19 off his four overs.
The match was preceded by much drama that delayed the toss by 25 minutes.
BCB Technical Committee chief Jalal Yunus said the Sylhet franchise had foreign players without proper No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) that delayed the start of the match.
The game, originally slated for a 2pm start, kicked off at 3:08pm at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur.
Tamim, who had been furious over the complications before the beginning of the tie, was in a murderous mood with the bat.
After Dilshan walked back for a golden duck off Subashis Roy, Tamim scored 79 runs off 65 balls with Yasir for the second wicket.
The left-handed opener raced to his fifty off 33 balls before being caught off Ajantha Mendis. He studded his 45-ball innings with six boundaries and four sixes.
Twenty20 debutant Yasir seemed edgy at the start but gradually gained confidence with some fine shots on both sides of the wicket.
He cracked four sixes in his 52-ball innings before running himself out in the last ball of the innings.
Jeevan Mendis' quickfire 11-ball 20 came in handy while Ziaur Rahman remained unbeaten on 15.
Mohammad Shahid, Roy, Mendis and Nazmul Islam bagged a wicket each but Munaweera proved expensive, conceding 54 runs in his four overs.