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| Junaid Siddique (89 from 51 balls) |
A mightier explosion from Junaed Siddiqui eclipsed the one from Phil
Mustard as Duronto Rajshahi chased down a formidable total quite
comfortably to script a massive 9-wicket victory against Barisal Burners
in the BPL T20 at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday.
The
tournament had been crying out for an innings like Junaed's as the
foreigners have been dominating the proceedings. The Rajshahi
left-hander did it in emphatic fashion during his unbeaten 89 as
Rajshahi overtook Barisal's 192 runs with 2.5 overs to spare.
After
two defeats in the first two matches, Rajshahi have bounced back
strongly to win five matches in a row, thus increasing their chances of
playing in the semifinals with ten points from seven matches. Barisal
are on six points from the same number of outings.
It was a very
entertaining match for the smallish crowd in terms of power-hitting as
33 boundaries and 18 sixes were deposited, thanks to Barisal's Ahmed
Shehzad and Mustard and Rajshahi's Junaed, Shahzaib Hasan and Marlon
Samuels.
But in the end it was Junaed who became the hero of the
match. Many might have dismissed Rajshahi's chances after Barisal's
192-3 but Junaed said that he was confident of success once he hit the
first six through square-leg off Yasir Arafat in the first over.
Chasing
the challenging target, Rajshahi made a perfect start as Shahzaib, who
smashed six fours and two sixes in his 22-ball 46, and Junaed made use
of the indisciplined bowling during their 93-run opening stand in 6.4
overs to set the tone for an easy sail.
Samuels joined the party with an unbeaten 30-ball 54, which saw four boundaries and three sixes, to finish the job in style.
“The
first six gave me the confidence. It was actually my day as I could do
whatever I wanted to do in the middle. I'm really happy with today's
performance because it has boosted my confidence,” said Junaed, who
smote five sixes and seven boundaries during his 51-ball unbeaten knock.
Junaed
got back his rhythm after a long break and his whirlwind knock also
brought back memories of his 134-run knock in the Premier Division
Cricket T20 tournament back in 2005-06 at the Dhanmondi Cricket Stadium.
“I
had been going through a long bad patch, so this innings helped me get
my confidence back. You know my 134 runs innings for Mohammedan against
Sonargaon Cricketers made me known as a cricketer and today's innings
gave me a new lease of life to some extent. Now my job is to continue my
good performance in the tournament and I'm not thinking about anything
other than Duronto Rajshahi,” said an excited Junaed.
“The unity
and team spirit was the main reason behind Rajshahi's success after
losing the first two matches,” said Junaed when asked how it was
possible for Rajshahi to bounce back in the tournament so strongly.
Earlier,
Rajshahi got off to a good start when skipper Mushfiqur Rahim took a
stupendous catch to send his opposite number Brad Hodge back to the
pavilion with Barisal's score on one, but Phil Mustard joined Shehzad to
seize the initiative.
The 29-year-old Englishman smote ten fours
and three sixes during his unbeaten 58-ball 88 while Shehzad contributed
with a 33-ball 44 with two fours and three sixes as Barisal set a
daunting task for Rajshahi.
But in the end it was proved that no score is safe in T20s.
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