Emrit snatches dramatic win for Barisal Bulls
Sports Reporter
Rayad Emrit snatched a victory from the jaw of defeat as Barisal Bulls sank Dhaka Dynamites by two wickets in a thrilling encounter of the BPL at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium yesterday.
As the team was on the knife-edge of defeat, being eight for 94 in 16.1 overs in the chase of 137, Emrits power-hitting prowess propelled the Bulls to an unlikely victory with two balls to spare. Emrit remained unbeaten on 54 off 28, hitting two sixes and six fours, last of which confirmed the victory when it carved past point.
The thrilling finish of the match also closed the curtain of the league phase in the tournament. The hard-fought victory would give Barisal Bulls a psychological edge ahead of their eliminator clash against the same opponent which will take place tomorrow.
The looser of the eliminator will be left out while the winner will get a chance to qualify for the final as they will take on the losing side of the qualifier. League leader Comilla Victorians will take on second placed Rangpur Riders in the qualifier match. The winner of the qualifier will directly move into the final. However, after finishing the double-leg tournament with 14 points, Comilla, Rangpur and Barisal were only separated on the basis of net-run-rate.
The match between Dhaka and Barisal turned out to be inconsequential one after Sylhet Super Stars were crashed out by Comilla Victorians. While Barisal kept Chris Gayle rested, Dhaka also got down to the business with their best player and captain Kumar Sangakkara and pacer Mustafizur Rahman. The absence of the three big stars was supposed to take the gloss off from the match but the intriguing finish made them forgettable.
After being sent to bat first, Dhaka Dynamites compiled a moderate total of 136 for six that proved to be insufficient.
Barisal unveiled their new foreign recruit Nikhil Dutta, who accompanied Emrit superbly during the torrid period and remained unbeaten on 9. Dutta, an off-spinner who played one international match for Canada, wrecked havoc in Dhakas innings earlier, claiming three for 18.
His measly bowling strangled Dhaka to such an extent that they were simply unable to break the shackle. Mosaddek Hossain Saikat was the highest scorer for Dhaka with 30 off 31, hitting one four and one six. With limited resources on the board, Dhaka bowlers clawed back in style to take the control of the match until Emrit took the game away in extraordinary fashion.
SCOREBOARD
Dhaka Dynamites innings:
M Hafeez c Riyad b Dutta 25
Farhad b Gazi 19
Nasir c Shuvo b Dutta 14
M Waller b Dutta 10
R ten Doeschate c Riyad b Emrit 22
Mosaddek not out 30
Shykat b Emrit 13
I Sukkur not out 1
Extras (w 1, nb 1) 2
Total (6 wickets; 20 overs) 136
Did not bat: Nabil Samad, Mosharraf, M Irfan.
Fall of wickets: 1-42, 2-47, 3-65, 4-72, 5-106, 6-127.
BOWLING O M R W
S Gazi 4 0 27 1
Al-Amin 4 0 42 0
S Shuvo 4 0 20 0
R Emrit 4 0 29 2
N Dutta 4 0 18 3
Barisal Bulls innings:
Mehedi st Sukkur b Mosharraf 37
R Talukdar c Sukkur b Irfan 4
B Taylor lbw b Nabil 3
M Riyad b Nabil 1
E Lewis c Waller b Mosaddek 9
Sabbir lbw b Mosharraf 4
S Gazi c Hafeez b Nasir 1
R Emrit not out 54
S Shuvo c Doeschate b Mosharraf 2
N Dutta not out 9
Extras c(b 1, lb 2, w 10) 13
Total (8 wickets; 19.4 overs) 137
Did not bat: Al-Amin Hossain
Fall of wickets: 1-15, 2-23, 3-25, 4-45, 5-56, 6-59, 7-76, 8-94.
BOWLING O M R W
M Irfan 3.4 0 30 1
Nabil Samad 4 1 23 2
Farhad Reza 3 0 19 0
Nasir Hossain 4 1 24 1
Mosaddeq 1 0 9 1
