Sylhet Strikers see both extremes
Winning a game despite losing three wickets in the second over against Fortune Barishal, but then losing their first home game. This was Sylhet’s week to forget (or remember). Mohammad Wasim’s three-wicket over should have seen Sylhet slide down the points table but Najmul Hossain Shanto and Rejaur Rahman Raja ensured that they won by two runs. But three days later, they crashed to 18 for 7 in their first game at home, against Rangpur Riders. Mashrafe Mortaza and Tanzim Hasan Sakib rescued them but 92 for 9 was never going to threaten Rangpur. Barishal’s win over Chattogram Challengers on Friday evening took them above Sylhet to the top of the points table.
Bowlers rule the week, feat. Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim
The week started with Haris Rauf bowling the fastest recorded delivery of the tournament, a 154kph thunderbolt at the chest of Darwish Rasooli against Chattogram. The batter fended it off to give a simple catch and Rauf took a three-wicket haul in the game. The following day, Wasim took his three-wicket over, before Nahidul Islam and Taskin Ahmed had their bowl-off in a clash between Dhaka Dominators and Khulna Tigers. Both took frugal four-wicket hauls but Taskin ended up winning the game for Dhaka. Afghanistan allrounder Azmatullah Omarzai and left-arm spinner Nihaduzzaman also had their bowling moments to cap off a fine week for bowlers in the BPL.
Batter of the week: Najmul Hossain Shanto
Shanto is now among the top three run-scorers in this season’s BPL. He has given Sylhet the top-order strength, while also getting a hang of anchoring in T20s. Shanto has a wide range of shots but like Litton Das he needs to know when to use those shots. So far in this season, he has looked like a batter who understands his game slightly better than 12 months ago.
Bowler of the week: Taskin Ahmed
With his on-field performance, Taskin is creating a gap between himself and the rest of the pace pack in terms of impact. He isn’t playing for the best team in the competition but ensured that Dhaka at least won a memorable low-scoring thriller with his four-wicket haul. Bowling short, full or length, Taskin’s drive towards becoming a better bowler is always evident in his energy on the field.
This article was originally published by Espncricinfo.com. Read the original article here.