PCL T20 Cup
Tamim flays Brothers
Defending champions Brothers Union went down to a 7-wicket defeat at the hands of Chittagong Tigers in the Port City Cricket League (PCL) at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium yesterday.
Chittagong’s Tamim Iqbal’s blazing knock of 44 made sure Tigers chased down a 138-run target with seven wickets in hand and seven balls to spare.
Tamim made a rollicking start as he blasted the Brothers bowlers to all corners of the park with his characteristic disdain. And it’s because of him that the Tigers were forty without loss after just four overs. The first ball of next over, Shafiul bowled a vicious yorker to have Tamim on prostrate on his back. Tamim came up with an apt reply dismissing the next two balls to the fence on the onside. Shafiul though had his revenge uprooting Tamim’s castle the next ball. Forty-eight for one were the Tigers, with 44 coming from Tamim’s bat.
Mithun (29) and Manjur’s (24) knocks took them closer to the target and Mahmudullah Riyad and Shamsur Rahman both remained not out on 19 to ensure an easy victory for them.
Earlier having won the toss, the defending champions opted to bat. But the star-studded batting line-up failed to live up to their reputation as they crumbled to the spin of Enamul Haque and Sri Lankan Milinda. Enamul, Milinda and pacer Kamrul Islam took two wickets each to stifle the runs for most part of the innings.
Nafees Iqbal’s 25 and Tushar Imran’s 18 gave them some momentum before a few lusty blows from Mohammad Rafique and Ziaur Rahman ensured Brothers finished with a decent score of 137 for nine. Ziaur finished unbeaten on 35 from just 20 deliveries with two sixes in the last two balls.
Nazimuddin’s mammoth six against Enamul, which occasioned for a change of ball, was the high point of an otherwise dull display of batting.
SCORES IN BRIEF
BROTHERS UNION: 137 for 9 in 20 overs (Ziaur 35 not out, Nafees 25, Tushar 18)
CHITTAGONG TIGERS: 138 for 3 in 18.5 overs (Tamim 44, Mithun 29, Manjur 24)
Result: Chittagong Tigers won by 7 wickets.
Bangla Tigers beat Pirates of Chittagong by eight wickets in the second match with their Pakistani opener Imran Farhat hitting an unbeaten 71. Farhat’s knock saw Tigers overhauling Pirates’ 155-9 in the second last over.
