All-rounder Elias Sunny played a superb unbeaten knock of 87 runs to help Dhaka clinch their third National Cricket League one-day title with a three-wicket win over Barisal in the final at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Sunday.
Sunny clubbed three consecutive boundaries in the 48th over in his 79-ball innings as Dhaka raced to 222-7 after they had restricted Barisal to 221-9 in the stipulated 50 overs.
Barisal thought they had a good chance of winning their back-to-back title when they had Dhaka reeling at 79-5 before a 97-run partnership between Sunny and national batsman Mahmudullah for the sixth wicket changed the course of the game.
Mahmudullah was out on 53 runs facing 80 balls that amazingly featured no fours or sixes. Dhaka still needed 46 runs when he departed but Sunny, the man of the final, did not allow Barisal to put them under any kind of pressure.
Formerly a Chittagong player, Sunny struck nine fours and two sixes in his innings as Dhaka won the game with two overs to spare.
‘I am very happy to make some contribution with the bat as I came into the side basically as a bowler,’ Sunny told reporters after the final.
‘I was never a recognized batsman. But I had the confidence. Today it was a great chance for me to prove my worth as a batsman and I am happy to do that,’ he said.
Earlier, pacer Shahahdat Hossain fired on all cylinders to take four wickets including two during the crucial batting Powerplay of Barisal as Dhaka restricted their visitors to a modest total.
Asif Ahmed (48) and Shahin Hossain (40) gave Barisal a decent platform at the top-order before Shahadat, who retuned with figures of 4-39, triggered the collapse. Ariful Haque delivered some lusty blows at the late order to make 35 off 19 balls as Barisal went past the 200-run mark
Barisal captain Shahriar Nafees termed the partnership of Mahmudullah and Sunny as the cause of their defeat.
‘We lost to their partnership. Sunny played an extra-ordinary innings to take the game away from us,’ Shahriar lamented.
Brief Scores
Barisal: 221-9 in 50 overs: Asif Ahmed 48, Shahin Hossain 40, Ariful Haque 35; Shahadat Hossain 4-39, Mohammad Ashraful 2-14.
Dhaka: 222-7 in 48 overs: Elias Sunny 87 not out, Mahmudullah 53; Monir Hossain 3-44, Fazle Rabbi 2-34.
Result: Dhaka won by three
wickets
Man of the Final: Elias Sunny
Player of the Tournament: Mohammad Ashraful
