Bangladesh Premier League 2015: Top 5 matches so far

Here are 5 matches that kept the spectators on their feet with excitement and entertainment.

Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2015 started on November 22 but is already amongst one of the most followed tournaments currently. With many stalwarts of the game from around the globe, the game has all it takes to make it entertaining. From hard-hitters to lethal bowlers, all have contributed to give the matches nail-biting finish. With a lot of matches still to go, one can expect more of the same in the matches to come. Paulami Chakraborty lists 5 matches that kept the spectators on their feet with excitement and entertainment. READ: Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2015: Points Table and Team Standings

Match 1: Rangpur Riders vs Chittagong Vikings

The glamour-filled league got the perfect start with an action packed match between the Rangpur Riders and the Chittagong Vikings. Vikings won the toss, chose to bat first and did all the right things. Openers Tamim Iqbal and Tillakaratne Dilshan provided a good start as the team lost their first wicket after their team total of 52. The team went on to build up a huge total of 187. Their bowlers also did a great job, especially Mohammad Aamer. They bagged four consecutive wickets and the Rangpur Riders were reduced to 23 for 5 at a point. But things changed soon after as a Misbah ul Haq got into action and scored a 39-ball 61. The innings had three fours and four sixes in it and it helped his team take a huge step towards their victory. The rest of the job was done by Thisara Perera who scored 43 off 17 with the help of four fours and three sixes. Still, there was tension as they needed 2 runs to win from the last 2 balls. The penultimate delivery saw a run out, to increase the pressure a bit more and finally Saqlain Sajib collected the winning run off the last ball.

Match 2: Dhaka Dynamites vs Comilla Victorians

If the first match saw humongous scores, the second match was a low scoring thriller. The Victorians won the toss and elected to bat, a decision that the batsmen of the side didn’t do justice to. They lost their first wicket in the first over, second wicket in the second and this continued till they had lost four of their wickets in the first four overs. The batsmen failed miserably as it was skipper Mashrafe Mortaza, who emerged as the highest scorer with his 25 runs helping the team to put up 110 runs as target. It looked like an easy deal for the Dhaka Dynamites and they started things off really well not losing a wicket till the fourth over. But wickets kept falling at regular intervals the match was stretched to the final over. Nasir Jamshed was the highest scorer with 44 runs, which helped the Dynamites win.

Match 3: Sylhet Super Stars vs Chittagong Vikings

Another high-scoring match that turned out to be competitive was the third BPL 2015 match. Sylhet Super Stars, who had won the toss, sent the Chittagong Vikings to bat and they must have regretted the decision. The Vikings scored a whopping 180, with mentionable contributions from skipper Tamim Iqbal (69) and No. 3 batsman Yasir Ali (63). The score seemed to be defendable one by T20 standards but the story was different. Vikings’ bowlers failed to get a breakthrough before the Super Stars’ team score of 66. Munaweera scored a stupendous 30-ball 64 with the help of 13 fours and a maximum while skipper-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim remained unbeaten at 50 but couldn’t save the match as their innings ended at 179 for 6 and the Vikings won by a single run.

Match 6: Sylhet Super Stars vs Barisal Bulls

Talking about 1-run victories, it seems like Sylhet Super Stars have some connection with it. This time also, they were handed a 1-run defeat by the Barisal Bulls. The Super Stars bowlers did really well to restrict the Bulls to 108 but their batsmen failed to live up to the expectations and their innings ended at 107 for 9, losing it by 1 run.

Match 9: Sylhet Super Stars vs Rangpur Riders

Rangpur Riders had started the innings to see yet another low-scoring match of the league as they could only score 109 runs in their quota of 20 overs in the ninth match of the tournament. Most batsmen went back for single digit scores, courtesy of some excellent bowling from Sylhet Super Stars. Shakib Al Hasan however top scored with 33. But things looked even worse in their innings as only three batsmen managed to register double digit scores, Mominul Haque with his 29 being the highest. After 19.2 overs, the Super Stars were bundled out for 103 and the Rangpur Riders registered a 6-run win.

(Paulami Chakraborty, a singer, dancer, artist, and photographer, loves the madness of cricket and writes about the game. She can be followed on Twitter at @Polotwitts)

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