Mahedi’s all-round brilliance, Shoriful’s fifer power Chattogram back to BPL summit
Chattogram Royals reasserted their authority at the top of the Bangladesh Premier League standings with a five-wicket victory over Noakhali Express at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on Friday.
The match marked the resumption of the BPL’s Dhaka phase, which finally got underway after players called off their boycott late the previous night. Fans turned up in droves, filling the stands for the long-awaited return of action.
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Put in to bat, a struggling Noakhali side never truly found momentum. Opener Soumya Sarkar provided a fleeting spark with an eight-ball 14 before falling to Mahedi Hasan, while in-form Hassan Eisakhil was dismissed by pacer Shoriful Islam at the end of the Powerplay for a team-highest 25.
Mahedi wreaked havoc in the early overs and eventually finished with figures of three wickets for 12 runs, setting the tone for a collapse.
Jaker Ali (23) and Sabbir Hossain (22) offered brief resistance but Noakhali slipped further when Shoriful tore through the lower order. Shoriful went on a hattrick and came close to achieving it, eventually returning career-best figures of five wickets for just nine runs as Noakhali were bowled out for 126.
In response, Chattogram were jolted early when Hasan Mahmud dismissed Mahmudul Hasan Joy for a duck, and the chase grew trickier after Hasan Nawaz departed for 11, leaving the table-toppers wobbling at 69 for five.
Captain Mahedi Hasan then steadied the innings with a composed unbeaten 49 off 36 balls, while Asif Ali provided solid support with an unbeaten 36. The pair guided Chattogram home comfortably, reaching 128 in 17 overs.
The defeat officially ended Noakhali’s hopes of making the playoffs.
Meanwhile, with no matches taking place yesterday, the fixtures originally scheduled for January 16 and 17 have been pushed back by a day. As a result, the Eliminator and Qualifier 1, initially slated for January 19, will now be held on January 20.
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