2024-02-18 01:53:51
Fortune Barisal had a good start to the BPL. A few matches were lost due to lack of rhythm. However, as the playoffs are approaching, Tamim Iqbal’s team is becoming more familiar.
The way Barisal defeated Sylhet Strikers in Chittagong on Saturday (February 17) sent a strong message to other teams. They are also contenders for the title. After winning the toss and batting first, Barisal scored 183 runs for 6 wickets. In response Sylhet Strikers’ innings stopped at 165 for 8 wickets. They got their sixth win of the competition by 18 runs. They have lost four out of 10 matches.
West Indies’ pace all-rounder Kyle Myers is the hero of Barisal’s victory. Contributed to the tie in bat-ball and won the team.
The relationship between Myers and Chittagong’s Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium is a different kind of thrill. In 2021, Myers won his team by writing an epic unbeaten 210 runs against Bangladesh’s target of 395 runs at Sagarpar Stadium.
Became the first cricketer on Test debut to score a double century in the fourth innings, the highest run chase on Asian soil; The innings record of 210 runs by Barputra of Barbados was reversed. Since then, Myers has been carrying the number 210 on his jersey. Today that same jersey was seen again in Chittagong.
The pace all-rounder left his mark after getting the chance to play BPL for the first time. He got 3 wickets for 12 runs with the ball after 48 runs off 31 balls and 3 fours and a six. Besides, Mushfiqur scored 52 runs in 32 balls with 3 fours and a six. In the fourth wicket partnership, Mushfiq and Myers made a partnership of 84 runs off 48 balls. Looking at the edge of their bat, it seemed that Barisal’s run would go to the top.
At the end of 16 overs, Barisal won the toss and went to bat. The run was 149 for 3 wickets. But in the next 12 balls only 6 runs were added to their scoreboard. Still, Barisal was hoping that Mahmudullah and Miraj were there. They did not break their hearts. Miraj hit two sixes to Shafiqul and Tanjim. Mahmudullah bit the ground and threw the ball to the boundary. In the end, Barisal got 183 runs for 6 wickets.
Earlier, captain Tamim Iqbal was bowled for 19 runs by Tanjim’s yorker. Ahmed Shehzad caught this bowler flying for 17 runs. Only 8 runs come from Soumya’s bat. Mahmudullah remained unbeaten on 12 runs but Miraj was out for 15 runs.
Tanjim took 3 wickets for 48 runs with the ball in hand for Sylhet. Shafiqul and Tector got 1 wicket each.
Chasing the target, Myers pocketed a pair of wickets in the first over. After bowling Tector with some great inswing bowling, he palmed Shanto in the slips. The only slip fielder Soumya took a great catch to the left. Sylhet could not handle the initial shock. When Ryan Barle returned to the dressing room as the sixth batsman in the tenth over, the scoreboard read 40/6.
From there, Ariful and Benny Howell scored quick runs with each attack. Barisal’s bowlers were bowling loosely as the match was in hand. They made great use of them and made quick runs with four-sixes. That gives the scoreboard some life. 52 balls their pair of runs reached a hundred. Which is the first century partnership for the seventh wicket in the history of BPL. Ariful picked up his fifty off 28 balls. Howell gets his fifty off 29 balls.
There was some excitement in the match towards the end. 44 runs were required from 12 balls. Ariful hits McVay’s first ball over long on for a six. But he got out with the next short ball return catch and returned to the dressing room. 57 runs from 31 balls with 5 fours and 4 sixes came from Ariful’s bat. New batsman Tanjim contributed with 4 and 3 runs in the next two balls. Back on strike, Howell collected 5 runs in the last two balls. The left-arm pacer spent 21 runs in the 19th over with two wides.
Sylhet needed 23 runs in the last over. Sylhet’s dreams were shattered when Howell was caught at deep point on the second ball after dotting the first. Ariful and Howell’s 52-ball 108-run partnership narrowed the margin of defeat.
Last season’s runners-up were officially eliminated from the tournament after losing their seventh match in the tenth match.