BPL: Whirlwind Pollard puts off the Burners

Batsman hits 4 sixes in 17-ball knock to take Dhaka home.

Kieron Pollard hit four sixes and built on Imran Nazir’s aggressive start to take Dhaka Gladiators to a five-wicket win over Barisal Burners in a high-scoring Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) match.

Pollard hammered 35 off just 17 balls after Nazir (65 off 40) had shared a 92-run third-wicket partnership with Azhar Mahmood (42 off 30) while chasing 157. Dhaka lost three wickets for nine runs but Pollard used the long handle effectively to take his side home with 10 balls to spare.

Earlier, Ahmed Shehzad continued his brilliant BPL form, scoring a 39-ball 51 to lay a solid foundation for Barisal.

Royals humble Kings

Meanwhile, Sylhet Royals, the BPL’s whipping boys to date, posted a comprehensive 35-run win over Chittagong Kings.

Kings’ decision to field first backfired as Royals’ openers, Kamran Akmal and Peter Trego, smashed 97 runs in under 11 overs, both hitting half-centuries and laying a solid foundation for an imposing total. Akmal hit a 37-ball 53 laced with five fours and four sixes while Trego was unbeaten on 68 as the Royals posted 165 for three off their quota.

In reply, Nasir Jamshed threatened to lead his side to glory but he was involved in two run-outs and then holed out to midwicket for a sedate 27 off 29 balls – with just two hits to the fence. There was a late fightback by Mahmudullah and Ziaur Rehman, who shared a 55-run sixth-wicket partnership but it was too little too late for the Kings.

Sohail Tanvir was the pick of the bowlers, bagging three wickets for 18 runs off his quota as the out of sorts Kings folded out rather meekly in the end.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 26^th, 2012.