Dhaka Capitals won the toss and sent Sylhet to bat first in the second match of the day at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Thursday. Sylhet got off to a good start with opener Parvez Hossain Emon leading the bat. Sylhet Titans scored 48 runs without a wicket after the powerplay of 6 overs.
The opening pair broke after the powerplay. Tawfiq Khan departed. He scored 17 runs off 21 balls. Emon, who was playing well, was also stopped in the next over. He departed after playing an innings of 32 runs off 24 balls. Afif Hossain Dhruv, who got out for a four, could not make much of an advantage. He departed after scoring 6 runs off 9 balls.
After Afif’s departure, Ariful Islam and Azmatullah Omarzai formed a partnership at the crease. Sylhet’s innings progressed with the effective batting of both of them. Both returned in the same over. Ariful departed after playing an innings of 38 runs off 29 balls. On the other hand, Omarzai played a cameo of 33 runs off 23 balls.
Sylhet’s son-in-law Moeen Ali stormed towards the end. Moeen scored 28 runs from the 19th over in a spectacular batting display. Moeen, who scored 28 runs off 8 balls in the last over, was out. However, Sylhet Titans made a big collection with the help of Ethan Brooks and Mehedi Hasan Miraj. Sylhet scored 180 runs for the loss of 6 wickets after the end of the stipulated 20 overs. 180 runs were scored in the last over. Miraj survived with 7 runs off 2 balls. Brooks was unbeaten on 9 runs off 4 balls.
Ziaur Rahman took 3 wickets for Dhaka. Nasir Hossain, Saif Hasan and Imad Wasim took 1 wicket each.
Dhaka Capitals got off to a great start with the bat of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Abdullah Al Mamun in reply. Mamun was more aggressive. He took advantage of the powerplay to score runs. The opening pair scored 56 runs. Mamun departed after scoring 24 runs off 11 balls. Sylhet scored 57 runs for the loss of 1 wicket in 6 overs of the powerplay.
Dhaka did not get off to a good start but could not find a win.
Nasir Hossain, the hero of Dhaka’s victory in the previous match, could not take advantage of the day after falling to three. Nasir departed after scoring 3 runs off 7 balls. Shamim Hossain Patwary, who got off to four, could not take advantage either. Shamim departed after scoring 1 run off 4 balls. Then Saif Hasan came to the crease. Saif joined hands with Gurbaz and moved forward. Saif seemed a bit bright.
Gurbaz moved forward with a slow batting. He reached fifty. However, there is doubt about how much that fifty helped the team. Gurbaz returned to the dressing room after playing an innings of 51 runs off 44 balls.
Dhaka has been in a slump since Gurbaz’s departure. Sylhet’s bowlers kept Dhaka under pressure by picking up wickets one after another at regular intervals. In the middle, Saif Hasan scored 22 runs off 14 balls. Imad Wasim scored 12 runs off 8 balls.
Towards the end, Sabbir Rahman’s unbeaten 25 off 16 balls reduced Dhaka’s margin of defeat. Dhaka was stopped at 160 runs after the stipulated 20 overs. Sylhet won by 20 runs.
Salman Irshad took 3 wickets for Sylhet. Moin Ali took 2 wickets. Ruel Miah, Azmatullah Omarzai and Nasum Ahmed took 1 wicket each.
Rajshahi defeated Noakhali by 4 wickets in the first match of the day.
