Home ›› 27 Jan 2022 ›› Sport
Nahidul Islam from Comilla Victorians has been instrumental for his side so far in the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League 2022 as he was judged player of the match in both the matches his team won.
The off-spinner has been very economical with the ball and handy with the bat, serving as the keystone for Comilla’s victories against Sylhet Sunrisers and Fortune Barishal.
Against Fortune Barishal, Nahidul touched the record for the most economical spell in BPL history as he ended with bowling figures of 4-1-5-3.
He bowled his first two overs within the power-play, where his first over was a maiden with a wicket, and in his second over, Nahidul dismissed Shakib Al Hasan.
Benny Howell is yet to set foot in international cricket but is a household name in franchise cricket and the global citizen has been proving his mettle for Chattogram Challengers thus far. He is the second-highest run-getter in the tournament and has done that with an impressive strike rate of 189.83.
Since its formation, the Minister Dhaka team has been at the centre of attention. Firstly, because of the last moment change of ownership rights, leading to the Bangladesh Cricket Board taking over a franchise and secondly, the inclusion of former Bangladesh one-day captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, current ODI captain Tamim Iqbal and the T20 captain Mahmudullah in the same team. These three usually play in different teams in domestic tournaments.
Despite having big names and promising youngsters, Dhaka sit at the bottom of the points table as they have lost three matches out of four.
Tamim has managed two half-centuries, but his side lost both matches. Mahmudullah is the highest run-scorer so far, with 124 runs from four innings, but in most cases, his runs came at losing causes.
On the other hand, Howell’s all-round performance against Dhaka and Khulna were crucial for the Challengers to earn four valuable points. He scored 37 runs from just 19 balls against Dhaka and bowled four overs, conceding only 27 runs.
Howell also played a cameo of 34 runs from 20 balls against Khulna Tigers, which helped Chattogram post 190-7 in 20 overs, the highest team total in this edition of BPL so far. He also picked the crucial wicket of Khulna skipper Mushfiqur Rahim in that match.
Though Howell’s top-notch performance is a bright side for Chattogram, the lean patches of young local cricketers like Afif Hossain and Shamim Hossain could be concerning for them.
The Challengers have a busy schedule ahead as they will play four matches in the next five days, all at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram, where the wickets generally are batting-friendly.
So far, Afif has scored only 33 runs from three matches, and Shamim has gathered 24 runs.
Chattogram is heavily dependent on their foreign openers, Will Jacks and Kenner Lewis, who have the spark but are yet to deliver a great start at the top.
On the contrary, Comilla is full of exciting foreign cricketers like Faf Du Plessis and Cameron Delport, but Nahidul has been their key player so far.
In the first match, Comilla bowled Sylhet out for only 96, where Nahidul took two wickets. But in reply, Sylhet also strangled them, and Nahidul’s innings of 16 runs came in handy as they won the match by just two wickets.
Fortune Barishal has not been fortunate enough so far in this tournament as they have won only one out of their three matches. They assembled a pool of global T20 stars alongside Shakib Al Hasan but are yet to blossom to the fullest. They were fortunate enough to have Chris Gayle, Dwanye Bravo and Shakib in the same team, along with some seasoned local campaigners, but they have batted poorly thus far in the tournament.
Barishal have three more games coming up in the Chattogram stage, where Afghan spinner Mujeeb-ur-Rahman will join them, and his inclusion might turn the wheel of fortune for them.
Khulna played two matches, won one and lost one. Led by Mushfiq, who was dropped from the national T20 side after his poor show in the ICC T20 World Cup, played some good knocks in the Tests in between, but lady luck is yet to bless him in T20s. Mushfiq scored six and 11 runs in the two matches, but he must be pleased to have the keeping gloves back.
Khulna chased down 183 runs posted by Dhaka in their opening match, but against Chattogram, they lost it midway through the chase as Andre Fletcher had to leave the ground with a concussion.
Khulna will play three straight matches at the port city and will like to come back to the capital with a full purse.
Sylhet Sunrisers have also played two matches, winning one and losing the other. But their batting is still untested as both matches were low-scoring affairs.
In the first match, Sylhet were all-out for 96 against Comilla, and in the next match, Dhaka managed only 100 runs which Sylhet chased in 17 overs.
Their bowling looks impressive as they have plucked 18 wickets so far, with Nazmul Islam being the highest wicket-taker with seven wickets.
