Published: Nov 18, 2016, 02:44 PM (IST)
Edited: Nov 19, 2016, 12:43 PM (IST)
Mohammad Nabi came out fighting and powered his side to a fighting in the 16th encounter of the Bangladesh Premier League 2016-17 against Rajshahi Kings at Chittagong. Vikings bounced back emphatically after being in a precarious situation at one stage. Nabi played a memorable innings and weathered the storm brilliantly. He played an emphatic knock of 87 off just 37 deliveries and steered his side to a challenging 190/5. Nabi has certainly played one of the best knocks of his career, which also came at a time when his team needed the most. Chittagong Vikings now have some big runs on the board and look favourites. FULL CRICKET UPDATES: Chittagong Vikings vs Rajshai Kings , BPL 2016, Match 16 at Chittagong
Chittagong Vikings got off to a shaky start as they lost early wickets in the powerplay. Tamim Iqbal floundered early with the bat on five. Dwayne Smith looked good and was scoring runs at a brisk pace but was dismissed on 34 by Abul Hasan. Anamul Haque scored a much needed fifty and ensured the ship was stable after suffering early blows. His knock was important as, Vikings at one stage were falling like nine pins and needed someone to stable the ship. Grant Elliott failed to make any impact as he was done and dusted by Samit Patel. Jaharul Islam also walked away early as Patel got the better of him with a beauty. Vikings were precariously placed at 68 for the loss of four wickets when Nabi walked out to bat and from there he never looked back.
Nabi smashed six boundaries and equal number of boundaries to wreck havoc in at Chittagong. He came out all guns blazing and got the ball rolling from the outset at Chittagong. He played with unmatched confidence under immense pressure. Samit Patel bowled well as he finished with 2 for 21 as every other bowlers had a tough time in the field. Abul Hasan went for 47 runs in his quota of four overs while Farhad Raza conceded 44 runs in his four overs. Darren Sammy too leaked as many as 30 runs in his 30 overs. Mehedi Hasan bowled just couple of overs and chipped a wicket as Nabi was not sparing any bowler and smashed boundaries at will.
Rajshahi Kings have some serious depth in their batting but chasing a target of 191 will be a task. Vikings have the bowling to restrict and defend the total comfortably. Expect a thrilling run-chase when Rajshahi Kings take guard at Chittagong.
Brief scores:
Chittagong Vikings 190/5 (Anamul Haque 50, Mohammad Nabi 87*; Samit Patel 2 for 21) vs Rajshahi Kings.
