Sylhet down Dhaka to keep hopes alive

�Boom Boom� Afridi seals victory with two successive sixes

Dhaka Dynamites’ aspiration to seal the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) play-off spot was delayed after their six-wicket defeat to a resurgent Sylhet Super Stars yesterday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
The Dynamites, a team owned by the country’s leading business conglomerate Beximco Limited, now have to wait for their last match against Barisal Bulls today to know their fate. They have eight points in nine matches while Super Stars collected six off nine. The road to qualifier stage however is much easier for Dhaka than Super Stars who would have to rely on ifs and buts.
 If Dhaka win the match, they will go through without further equation but their loss and the Super Stars win against Comilla Victorians today would leave the fate at the hands of net-run-rate in which Dhaka still remains far ahead than Super Stars. Dhaka however could still seal the qualifier stage in case of both team’s defeat in their respective match today.  
Dynamites batsmen showed more aptitude and flair unlike the other matches as they piled up a respectable 157 for five but the bowling and fielding weren’t as effective as it should be. They never came up with alternative plan when Junaid Siddique and Ravi Bopara kept them at bay. They duo shared 86 off 63 for the second wicket to take the side on the verge of the victory and finally Super Stars gunned down the target with a ball to spare with captain Shahid Afridi sealing the deal with consecutive two sixes off Farhad Reza.
Junaid struck 51 off 43, hitting one four and three sixes while Bopara smashed 40 ball-55, including four fours and as many sixes, some of which beautifully carved past the inner circle.
After yet another top-order failure, skipper Kumar Sangakkara held together the innings for Dhaka. He gave the struggling batting line up an impetus, playing a 35 ball-48 runs knock, studded with seven fours after his side was reeling to 55 for three. The captain was once again aided by Nasir Hossain who as usually failed to live up to his reputation of finisher role, being dismissed on 18th over. Despite making a handy 31 off 23 with two fours and as many sixes, Nasir’s dismissal at that moment forced Dhaka to end the innings with at least 20 runs short.  Malcolm Waller and Mosaddek Hossain Saikat paced the innings in the last two overs however.
Dhaka’s decision to open the innings with makeshift openers however didn’t go augurs well with the opening pair of Farhad Reza and Yasir Shah couldn’t give the side a blazing start to what was expected. Reza still made 31 off 28 but his incapability to convert the start, left Dhaka’s plan jeopardised.
Sylhet also started with new opener in Joshua Cobb alongside Junaid Siddique but given their struggling position in the tournament, it was a move to expect. Cobb however couldn’t dazzle according to his talent but thanks to Junaid as Super Stars got the kind of the start what needed to overhaul such a big target. He dominated the bowlers right from the words go even though Dhaka seemed to regain the control with trapping Cobb (15) run-out. If Dynamites sensed any chance, it was quickly evaporated by Ravi Bopara who was more aggressive than Junaid.  Both the batsmen took the bowler in disdain to establish Sylhet’s utter domination. Yasir Shah finally broke the partnership having dismissed Junaid while Farhad Reza got the crucial wicket of Bopara to bring Dhaka back into contention. Some tight bowling then took the match in the last over in which Sylhet needed 10 to win but Afridi was too hot to handle.

 

Sylhet down Dhaka to keep hopes alive

�Boom Boom� Afridi seals victory with two successive sixes

Dhaka Dynamites aspiration to seal the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) play-off spot was delayed after their six-wicket defeat to a resurgent Sylhet Super Stars yesterday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. The Dynamites, a team owned by the countrys leading business conglomerate Beximco Limited, now have to wait for their last match against Barisal Bulls today to know their fate. They have eight points in nine matches while Super Stars collected six off nine. The road to qualifier stage however is much easier for Dhaka than Super Stars who would have to rely on ifs and buts. If Dhaka win the match, they will go through without further equation but their loss and the Super Stars win against Comilla Victorians today would leave the fate at the hands of net-run-rate in which Dhaka still remains far ahead than Super Stars. Dhaka however could still seal the qualifier stage in case of both teams defeat in their respective match today. Dynamites batsmen showed more aptitude and flair unlike the other matches as they piled up a respectable 157 for five but the bowling and fielding werent as effective as it should be. They never came up with alternative plan when Junaid Siddique and Ravi Bopara kept them at bay. They duo shared 86 off 63 for the second wicket to take the side on the verge of the victory and finally Super Stars gunned down the target with a ball to spare with captain Shahid Afridi sealing the deal with consecutive two sixes off Farhad Reza. Junaid struck 51 off 43, hitting one four and three sixes while Bopara smashed 40 ball-55, including four fours and as many sixes, some of which beautifully carved past the inner circle. After yet another top-order failure, skipper Kumar Sangakkara held together the innings for Dhaka. He gave the struggling batting line up an impetus, playing a 35 ball-48 runs knock, studded with seven fours after his side was reeling to 55 for three. The captain was once again aided by Nasir Hossain who as usually failed to live up to his reputation of finisher role, being dismissed on 18th over. Despite making a handy 31 off 23 with two fours and as many sixes, Nasirs dismissal at that moment forced Dhaka to end the innings with at least 20 runs short. Malcolm Waller and Mosaddek Hossain Saikat paced the innings in the last two overs however. Dhakas decision to open the innings with makeshift openers however didnt go augurs well with the opening pair of Farhad Reza and Yasir Shah couldnt give the side a blazing start to what was expected. Reza still made 31 off 28 but his incapability to convert the start, left Dhakas plan jeopardised. Sylhet also started with new opener in Joshua Cobb alongside Junaid Siddique but given their struggling position in the tournament, it was a move to expect. Cobb however couldnt dazzle according to his talent but thanks to Junaid as Super Stars got the kind of the start what needed to overhaul such a big target. He dominated the bowlers right from the words go even though Dhaka seemed to regain the control with trapping Cobb (15) run-out. If Dynamites sensed any chance, it was quickly evaporated by Ravi Bopara who was more aggressive than Junaid. Both the batsmen took the bowler in disdain to establish Sylhets utter domination. Yasir Shah finally broke the partnership having dismissed Junaid while Farhad Reza got the crucial wicket of Bopara to bring Dhaka back into contention. Some tight bowling then took the match in the last over in which Sylhet needed 10 to win but Afridi was too hot to handle.