A little known Mehedi Maruf hogged the limelight by making a mockery with Barisal Bulls bowlers as Dhaka Dynamites avenged last season’s three straight defeats against the same opponent with a thumping eight-wicket victory yesterday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in the capital.
Maruf unleashed powerful pulls and hooks from his repertoire, much to the surprise of the Barisal bowlers who perhaps were not prepared for such audacity.
Coming to open the innings with legend Kumar Sangakkara, Maruf finally cracked an unbeaten 45-ball 75 to help his side overhaul Barisal’s 148 for six with four overs to spare. Maruf launched the Dhaka’s chase in a spectacular fashion, hitting a powerful six in the second ball of Al-Amin Hossain and made the intention clear. He smashed four more sixes, all of which were homogenously towering to stun the Barisal bowlers and sent the Dhaka fans in delirium. In addition, he sent the ball across the rope five times more. He and Kumar Sangakkara raised the hope of a 10-wicket victory as they raced to 87 in just eight overs. After the strategic time-out, Sangakkara was deceived by a Taijul Islam delivery that kept surprisingly low. He scored 30 off 24. Shakib Al Hasan then aided him with a 23-ball 20 before Monir Hossain dismissed him. Maruf, however, kept hitting the ball to all corners of the ground making the victory

inevitable.
Earlier, Shahriar Nafees hit 55 while skipper Mushfiqur Rahim was unbeaten on 50 to give Barisal bowlers something to defend but Dhaka bowlers made inroads in crucial moments to prevent them from making a daunting total.
Fast bowler Mohammad Shahid claimed three for 21 to play a vital role in making Dhaka favourties after the end of the first innings. Shakib Al Hasan, Dwayne Bravo and Ravi Bopara also chipped-in with one wicket apiece and more importantly bowled in disciplined manner to strangle Barisal batting line up.
Shahid dismissed Barisal opener Shamsur Rahman in the third over to spark the rot while Bravo got Dilsahn Munaraweera. Shakib Al Hasan then got rid of big hitter Dawid Malan to become joint highest wicket-taker alongside Kevon Cooper in BPL with 49 hauls. However, Nafees and Mushfiqur were different as they played with precision and utmost confidence to make a total what was considered as a not-so-modest one.
They combined for an 82-run partnership after Barisal, who were sent to bat first, were reeling on a tittering 44 for three. By the time Mushfiqur slog-swept Alauddin Babu for six, Barisal looked resolute. Shahriar Nafees joined the party, taking Shakib Al Hasan in disdain and for a moment, Dhaka bowlers looked clueless. Later, Shahid took things in his hands and returned with a bang in the second spell. He removed Nafess with a fuller length delivery. Nafees smacked seven fours and two sixes in his 34-ball knock.