e_Paper_Wednesday_December 12, 2016

28
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2016
DT
Sport
Contest heats up in Bangladesh domestic cricket
• Minhaz Uddin Khan
Much like the international scene,
the domestic arena in Bangladesh
was filled with incidents throughout
the year 2016.
And with the year drawing to a
close, Dhaka Tribune assessed the
domestic scene and reviewed three
competitions – Bangladesh Premier
League Twenty20, Dhaka Premier
League and National Cricket
League – which had their share of
moments in 2016.
Bangladesh Premier League (BPL)
For some unexplained reasons, the
BPL T20 this season saw the teams
sign their icons ahead of the players’
draft, held in September. After
much talks between the BPL governing
council and the franchises,
the seven icon cricketers went
to their desired sides with Dhaka
Dynamites making the most noise
signing ace all-rounder Shakib al
Hasan. Dhaka were also garnering
maximum attentions for their
signings of foreign cricketers like
Dwayne Bravo, Kumar Sangakkara,
Andre Russell and Evin Lewis.
Dhaka met their ambition defeating
Rajshahi Kings in the final, that
too by a convincing margin of 56
runs.
Rajshahi might have lost the
grand finale but were content with
their display. They often relied on
team effort and were brilliantly led
by captain Darren Sammy.
However, if one were to take a
look at the points table then one
thing will become evident – none
of the teams dominated, especially
in the round robin stage. And perhaps,
this season’s most incredible
MOST RUNS
BPL T20 2016
Dhaka Dynamites players celebrate after winning the BPL 4 title
story was that of a moderate side
like Khulna Titans, who made it to
the playoffs before eventually finishing
third.
Led by icon and skipper
Mahmudullah, Khulna enjoyed a
brilliant run, despite not boasting a
star-studded line-up. Even though
their batting made them suffer
throughout the tournament, their
bowlers put in herculean efforts
with Shafiul Islam and Junaid Khan
leading from the front.
The power-packed Chittagong
Vikings shone brightly but faded
away in the business stages of the
competition while teams like Barisal
Bulls and defending champion
Comilla Victorians promised much
but produced little.
Chittagong started with a win
Player Mat Inns Runs HS Ave 100 50
Tamim Iqbal (Chittagong) 13 13 476 75 43.27 0 6
MOST WICKETS
Player Mat Overs Mdns Runs Wkts BBI Econ
Dwayne Bravo (Dhaka) 13 44.2 0 335 21 3/10 7.55
DPL 2016
MOST RUNS
Player Mat Inns Runs HS Ave 100 50
Raqibul Hasan (Doleshwar) 16 16 719 100 65.36 1 5
MOST WICKETS
Player Mat Overs Mdns Runs Wkts BBI Econ
Chaturanga de Silva (Victoria) 14 119.3 6 567 30 6/35 4.74
NCL 2016 (ROUND 5 ONGOING)
MOST RUNS
Player Mat Inns Runs HS Ave 100 50
Yasir Ali (Chittagong) 5* 9 379 95 47.37 0 4
MOST WICKETS
Player Mat Overs Mdns Runs Wkts BBI Econ
Sohrawardi Shuvo (Rangpur) 5* 134.2 25 351 22 7/45 2.61
only to lose their next five matches.
However, the port city outfit
bounced back strongly to finish
fourth after losing the Eliminator
against Rajshahi.
In contrast, Comilla made a horrific
start and only started winning
in the latter stages of the competition.
Not surprisingly, those victories
were not enough to sustain
their title defence.
Rangpur Riders scripted a scintillating
beginning but inconsistent
performance and team indiscipline
affected them greatly as the tournament
wore on.
Dhaka Premier League (DPL)
Abahani Limited lifted the DPL title
for the 18th time following an incomplete
last game of the season,
against Prime Doleshwar Sporting
Club. The umpires had walked off
this game at BKSP citing sudden
illness. A four-member committee
later investigated the issue and recommended
a no-result which later
got approved by the Bangladesh
Cricket Board.
The umpires staging a walk-out
from the game was one of among
many occasions where fingers were
raised towards champion Abahani.
With that said, competitiveness
among the teams was something
different compared to the last
two decades. All six Super League
teams this year had their chances
of claiming the championship.
Despite payment issues, Victoria
Sporting Club were impressive
throughout the competition while
Spectators thronged the stadiums in their thousands on the occasion of the fourth edition of the BPL
MD MANIK
the likes of Legends of Rupganj and
Prime Doleshwar were also among
the consistent performers.
National Cricket League (NCL)
The 18th edition of the divisional
first-class cricket tournament is
still ongoing. The competition that
got suspended mid-season in October
this year due to bad weather
and was later shelved to allow the
fourth edition of BPL to take place
has completed round four and is
currently holding its fifth round.
Khulna are leading tier one with
36 points, followed by Dhaka with
27 points. In tier two, Rajshahi and
Rangpur are battling for promotion
to the upper tier. With 46 points
each, Rangpur and Rajshahi are
jointly number one. •
MD MANIK