Sylhet blame unplayable wicket

Sylhet Sunrisers batsman Anamul Haque criticised the character of the wicket at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium after they suffered a two-wicket defeat against Comilla Victorians on Saturday.

The SBNCS surface received constant criticism from various corners because of its slow and low nature and failed to provide good preparation for the Tigers ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021.

But the second match of the opening day of the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League produced an even battle, where Minister Dhaka scored 183-6 in 20 overs, and Khulna Tigers chased it down quite comfortably in 19 overs to win the match by five wickets.

On the second-match day, Sylhet Sunrisers were all-out for only 96 runs in 19.1 overs, where only three batsmen managed to reach double figures.

In reply, Comilla Victorians also struggled to chase the paltry total and finally managed to do it in 18.4 overs, losing eight wickets.

Only six boundaries and one six were hit in the entire Sylhet innings. Comilla, despite having players like Faf Du Plessis and Cameron Delport, could not chase the target with ease.

In T20s, run-fests are expected with an array of fours and sixes. But the match between Comilla and Sylhet hardly lived up to the expectation.

Anamul, an opening batsman of Sylhet who scored only three, told the media after the match that the wicket was not fit for T20s.

“We did not think that the wicket was ideal for T20s. It was very difficult for the batsmen to bat on. It was wet and produced big turns. Both teams played in the same manner,” he said in the post-match media engagement on Saturday.

“I think everyone felt that it was a tough surface to bat on. If this kind of wickets exists in T20s, it is very difficult to produce runs. That is why the match was low-scoring,” Anamul added after the match.

Former South African captain, Du Plessis, told the media that after hitting the nets for the first time, he was expecting a wet wicket.

“The wickets are quite wet in the morning. It is quite sticky. I think the match wickets will be different because we aren’t playing in the morning,” he had said.

Du Plessis was out giving a return catch to Sohag Gazi, trying to play it straight, but the ball came on a bit late because the wicket was sticky.

Anamul believed the toss was vital as they had to bat first, and it could have been the other way around if they chased.

“The toss was vital. We would also prefer to field if we had won the toss. Everyone saw how much the ball was turning. It was very difficult to bat on,” said the opener.

Imrul Kayes, captain of Comilla, told the media that the wicket was difficult, but the bowlers bowled accordingly.

“The wicket was a bit difficult in the first innings, but our bowlers bowled well. It is even hard to rotate the strike on a turning wicket. On a low track, you cannot play as per your plan,” he said after the match.

Chattogram put on 161-8

Chattogram Challengers managed to put on a better show with the bat on Saturday as they put 161-8 on the board against Minister Dhaka.

Will Jacks provided them with a good start early on by scoring 41 off 24 deliveries, and Sabbir Rahman’s 29 off 17 deliveries set them up for a good finish.

And Benny Howell, like the previous match, provided that with 37 runs off just 19 deliveries, before getting out on the final delivery of the innings.

Rubel Hossain was Dhaka’s best bowler as he picked up three wickets for 26. He could have had one more, but Andre Russell dropped his second catch of the match to deny him of that.