Comilla play spoilsport

The reigning champions of the Bangladesh Premier League, the Comilla Victorians, may not have a chance to make it to the playoffs this time, but that does not mean they cannot create havoc for other teams.

That is exactly what they did yesterday at Mirpur when they thumped the Rajshahi Kings by eight wickets.

It was an important game for the Kings. They needed to win this game in order to assert their place in the top four. Currently in fourth position, had they won yesterday, they would have overtaken the Khulna Titans and moved to third place.

However, the defeat means that they are still in danger of not making it to the Playoffs. And that is because fifth-placed Rangpur Riders also have 10 points from 10 games but are placed below the Kings because of a poorer run-rate.

When the Rangpur Riders went down to the Dhaka Dynamites by 42 runs earlier in the day yesterday, they probably thought that their chances of making it to the last four got slimmer. However, Rajshahi's defeat has given them another chance to grab the fourth spot. Rangpur will now face the Barisal Bulls and the Comilla Victorians in their last two games of the group stage.

Their path seems a lot easier than Rajshahi's as the Kings have to play Barisal and the Chittagong Vikings in their last two fixtures.

As of now it seems as though the Dhaka Dynamites and the Chittagong Vikings will take the top two spots, while the Titans, the Kings and the Riders will compete for the last two.

In the evening match a 31-ball 44 run cameo from James Franklin, 23 off which came off the last over against Shohag Gazi, helped the Rajshahi Kings finish on 124 for seven after 20 overs.

Rajshahi's batsmen struggled against the Comilla Victorians, who put in a disciplined bowling performance. While Mohammad Saifuddin finished with figures of three for 12, skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza scalped two wickets off his four overs. Spinners Nabil Samad and Rashid Khan grabbed one wicket apiece.

By over number 15 Rajshahi were struggling at 78 for seven and they did not seem like they had the potential to even cross the 100-run mark.

However, Franklin stepped up and smashed Gazi for three sixes and one four in the last over of the innings and gave the Kings some hope.

That hope lasted for the first four overs after the exchange when the Victorians were reduced to 16 for one with Mehedi Hasan Miraz removing Imrul Kayes. However, Ahmed Shehzad and Marlon Samuels joined hands and built a 90-run stand to ward away fears of any collapse.

While Shehzad scored a 45-ball 46 with one six and a four, Samuels posted an unbeaten 55 off 41 balls with two fours and four sixes.

The onslaught began in the sixth over when Shehzad hit spinner Nazmul Islam down the ground for two fours.

Samuels, who had scored only 14 off 15 balls until then and let Shehzad do most of the talking, hammered Miraz for three consecutive sixes in the 10th over to demolish any hopes that the Kings had. Those sixes were powerful and flat, typical of Samuels.

After 10 overs, they were poised at 81 for one and needed just 44 off 60 balls. A few more boundaries later that came down to 29 off 42 balls. The easy equation was made a bit difficult thanks to some good death bowling from Forhad Reza who dismissed Ahmed Shehzad and ended up with a neat one for 14 in four overs. The pressure built by Forhad meant that the Victorians needed nine runs from the last two overs.

However, Samuels delivered the last blow by smacking Nazmul Islam for a six down the ground. The remaining runs were taken in singles as Comilla reached home with eight wickets and eight balls remaining.