Comilla Victorians 158 for 7 (Joy 48, Bravo 3-30, Shakib 2-25) beat Fortune Barishal 95 (Shanto 36, Nahidul 3-5, Tanvir 2-19) by 63 runs
How the match played out
Nahidul Islam claimed extraordinary figures of 4-1-5-3 as Comilla Victorians thumped Fortune Barishal by 63 runs in Dhaka. The offspinner emulated Shahid Afridi in bowling the most economical four-over spell in the BPL. Afridi had picked up 2 for 5 at the same venue in 2015.
Nahidul Islam claimed extraordinary figures of 4-1-5-3 as Comilla Victorians thumped Fortune Barishal by 63 runs in Dhaka. The offspinner emulated Shahid Afridi in bowling the most economical four-over spell in the BPL. Afridi had picked up 2 for 5 at the same venue in 2015.
Nahidul's second successive Player-of-the-match performance gave Comilla their second win in a row. They top the table with four points from two matches while Barishal have only two points from three games.
The pacers and the spinners shared the spoils for Comilla. Nahidul's three aside, left-arm spinner Tanvir Islam took two wickets; Shohidul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman and Karim Janat took five wickets amongst them.
Barishal's batting line-up faded away in the face of such tight bowling. While most of the batters couldn't get going with aggressive shots, opener Najmul Hossain Shanto crawled to 36 off 47 balls. At times it looked like Shanto's inability to find boundaries put pressure on the rest of the Barishal batters.
Big hit
Nahidul had Shykat Ali (0) caught at deep midwicket in the first over, followed by Shakib Al Hasan at mid-on in his next over. When he removed Chris Gayle with a beautiful offbreak that turned away from the left-hander, Nahidul's impact became even more evident.
Nahidul had Shykat Ali (0) caught at deep midwicket in the first over, followed by Shakib Al Hasan at mid-on in his next over. When he removed Chris Gayle with a beautiful offbreak that turned away from the left-hander, Nahidul's impact became even more evident.
Janat had a good day, following up his quickfire 29 with figures of 2 for 26. Tanvir was also economical, taking 2 for 19 in his four overs.
It was BPL debutant Mahmudul Hasan Joy who had laid the foundation for Comilla with 48 off 35 balls. Playing his first competitive match after his 78 in Bangladesh's Test win over New Zealand earlier this month, Joy adjusted well to T20 cricket. He found the gaps with his cut shot, slammed a couple of cover drives, and even nailed a slog-sweep. In all, he hit six fours and a six.
Comilla lost their way after Joy's departure, but Jant propped them up with late blows. The highlight of his innings was a no-look six off Dwayne Bravo that landed in the Mirpur grandstand.
Big miss
Barishal have struggled with the bat largely because of Shakib's patchy form - he has managed only 37 runs in three innings so far. Coming in at No. 3 in this game, Shakib holed out to mid-off as Nahidul foxed him with a bit of flight.
Barishal have struggled with the bat largely because of Shakib's patchy form - he has managed only 37 runs in three innings so far. Coming in at No. 3 in this game, Shakib holed out to mid-off as Nahidul foxed him with a bit of flight.
Nahidul Islam
Karim Janat
Mahmudul Hasan Joy
Comilla Victorians
Fortune Barishal
Bangladesh
Victorians vs Barishal
Bangladesh Premier League
Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo's Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84
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