After crushing Dhaka Capitals by 10 wickets in their previous match, Chittagong Royals followed it up with a commanding nine-wicket victory.
Sylhet Titans endured a miserable start as none of their top six batters managed to reach even 20 runs. After the collapse, Azmatullah Omarzai’s resistance helped them somehow crawl past the 100-run mark. Chasing a modest target, Chittagong Royals sealed an emphatic win thanks to half-centuries from openers Adam Rossington and Mohammad Naim Sheikh.
On Sunday in Sylhet, Chittagong defeated the hosts by nine wickets. In their previous outing, the team led by Sheikh Mehedi Hasan had demolished Dhaka Capitals without losing a wicket.
Disciplined bowling restricted Sylhet to just 126 runs. Chittagong then reached the target with 24 balls to spare.
Rossington, who had struck an unbeaten 60 in the previous match, once again finished on the winning side. The English wicketkeeper-batter played a brilliant knock of 73 not out from 53 balls, smashing two sixes and eight fours.
Naim Sheikh, who had remained unbeaten on 54 against Dhaka, could not stay till the end this time but did enough to finish the job. The left-hander scored 52 off 37 balls, hitting three sixes and four fours, and was awarded the Player of the Match.
Their opening partnership produced 115 runs, setting the foundation for Chittagong’s comfortable win.
The bowlers also played a vital role in the victory. Off-spinner Mehedi Hasan delivered a superb spell, picking up two wickets for just 18 runs in four overs. Mirza Beg claimed two wickets for 24 runs, while Shariful Islam, Aamer Jamal, and Mukidul Islam took one wicket each.
Sylhet’s innings got off to a nightmare start after they were sent in to bat. The hosts lost five wickets for just 34 runs.
Mukidul Islam struck with his very first delivery, removing opposition captain Mehedi Hasan Miraz. Zakir Hasan responded by hitting two boundaries off the pacer’s next two balls.
Spin was introduced in the fourth over, and captain Mehedi Hasan made an immediate impact by trapping Hazratullah Zazai lbw on the final ball of the over.
Mukidul was forced to leave the field after suffering a hamstring strain during his second over. Mirza Beg completed the over and struck twice, bowling Zakir before dismissing Ethan Brooks on the very next delivery.
Mehedi struck again in the final over of the powerplay, breaking Afif Hossain’s stumps. With wickets falling in quick succession, Sylhet faced the danger of being bowled out well before reaching 100.
Omarzai steadied the innings with a 43-run partnership with Parvez Hossain, followed by a 34-run stand with Rahatul Ferdous, helping Sylhet cross the three-figure mark. The Afghan all-rounder scored 44 off 41 balls, including one six and four fours. Parvez Hossain and Rahatul Ferdous were the next best contributors with 17 runs each.
In the chase, Naim began aggressively, launching Nasum Ahmed for a six off the very first ball. However, no boundaries followed for the next 13 deliveries. In the third over, Rossington smashed Omarzai for a six before Naim struck two consecutive fours.
Chittagong reached 52 runs in the powerplay without losing a wicket, thanks to their openers. The flow of runs continued steadily thereafter.
Rossington brought up his fifty off 37 balls in the 12th over and then struck Khaled for two consecutive fours. Naim reached his half-century off just 33 balls with a more aggressive approach.
At one stage, another 10-wicket win looked possible, but Naim was dismissed while attempting a six when only 12 runs were needed, caught at long-on by Rahatul.
Rossington eventually sealed the win by hitting a four off the final ball of the 16th over.
With this victory, Chittagong Royals moved to the top of the points table. Rajshahi Warriors also have six points from four matches, but Chittagong lead on net run rate.
Brief Score
- Sylhet Titans: 126/7 in 20 overs
(Miraz 5, Zazai 4, Zakir 15, Parvez 17, Brooks 0, Afif 4, Omarzai 44, Rahatul 17*, Nasum 13*; Shariful 4-0-29-1, Mukidul 1.2-0-11-1, Sheikh Mehedi 4-0-18-2, Miraz 2.4-0-24-2, Tanvir 4-0-17-0, Jamal 4-0-27-1) - Chittagong Royals: 130/1 in 16 overs
(Naim Sheikh 52, Rossington 73*, Sadman 3*; Nasum 4-0-19-0, Amir 2-0-10-0, Omarzai 1-0-16-0, Khaled 2-0-23-0, Miraz 3-0-28-0, Rahatul 3-0-29-1, Brooks 1-0-5-0)
Result: Chittagong Royals won by 9 wickets
Player of the Match: Mohammad Naim Sheikh
