Bangladesh Premier League: Sabbir heroics not enough for Kings

Right-hander scores 122 off 61 but Bulls still win by four runs

Sabbir Rahman’s superb knock of 122 off 61 balls, the highest score so far in the 2016 Bangladesh Premier League, was not enough to see his side claim the win as Barisal Bulls claimed a narrow four-run win at the Shere Bangla Stadium yesterday.

There was precious little support for Sabbir as Kings chased a steep 193-run total, with two batsmen being dismissed on golden ducks. One was opener Raqibul Hasan while the other was Pakistani middle-order batsman Umar Akmal.

Bangladesh pacer alAmin Hossain was the highest wicket-taker for his side with figures of 3-35 in four overs.



Earlier in the day, skipper Mushfiqur Rahim’s unbeaten 81 off 52 balls had taken Bulls to 192-4, with superb knocks from Shahriar Nafees (63 off 44 balls) and Thisara Perera (24 off 11).

Tanvir impresses in defeat

Like Sabbir, Pakistani all-rounder Sohail Tanvir tried his hardest to guide his side Comilla Victorians to victory in the day’s second match but was unable to do so.

Tanvir was the star of the show with the ball for his side, claiming three wickets while giving away just 19 runs in his quota of four overs.

He was ably supported by his skipper Mashrafe Mortaza (3-26) and Nazmul Hossain Shanto (2-9) as Khulna Titans were restricted to 144-9, with Hasanuzzaman’s 37 off 30 balls being the only score of over 25.



But the batsmen were unable to perform for Comilla as they fell 13 runs short of victory with Shafiul Islam’s figures of 2-13 being particularly impressive.

Tanvir, meanwhile, contributed with 21 runs off 21 balls for the losing side.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14^th, 2016.

Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.