Bangladesh Premier League: Afridi, Tamim fire Comilla Victorians to top of table

In what could be termed as a team effort, with Shahid Afridi and Tamim Iqbal playing the lead roles, Comilla Victorians outplayed Chittagong Vikings on Tuesday to jump to the top of the points table in Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2019.

Vikings’ innings never really took off and the decision of electing to bat backfired as Victorians’ bowlers – Mohammad Saifuddin (2/23), Wahab Riaz (2/23), Afridi (2/10) and Mehedi Hasan (1/17) – restricted Mushfiqur Rahim-led unit to 116/6 despite Mosaddek Hossain 25-ball 45-run (not out) cameo. (ALSO READ: Bangladesh Premier League: AB de Villiers’ fiery century leads Rangpur Riders to thrilling 8-wicket win)

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While Hossain top-scored with 45, no other batsman, excluding Mohammad Shahzad, who scored 33, chipped in with big runs.

Imrul Kayes-led Victorians chased down the target with 20 balls to spare and 7 wickets in hand. While Tamim scored an unbeaten 54 off 51 balls, Shamsur Rahman scored a quickfire 36 off 22 balls and helped Victorians seal their seventh win of BPL 2019 at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram.

While Vikings are still in the top four despite the defeat against Victorians, it could very well come down to a final few games in the league stage which will decide which three teams will have a shot to reach the finals, with Victorians are pretty much certain to occupy one place in the top four with 14 points against their name from 10 games.

The win over Vikings also helped Victorians to complete a hat-trick of wins, having beaten Khulna Titans and Dhaka Dynamites in their previous two games. (ALSO READ: Bangladesh Premier League: Evin Lewis’ unbeaten century inflicts more misery on Khulna Titans)

Victorians are scheduled to play the final two games in the league stage against Dhaka Dynamites and Rangpur Riders respectively before the top four teams fight for a place in the final.