Sylhet Sixers 68 for 0 (Rizwan 36*, Fletcher 32*) beat Chittagong Vikings 67 (Nasir 5-31, Nabil 3-7) by 10 wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball updates
Sylhet Sixers kept their hopes of qualifying into the playoffs as they walloped Chittagong Vikings by ten wickets in Dhaka. Chittagong were bowled out for 67 - the lowest total of BPL 2017 and joint fourth-lowest of all time - and Sylhet cruised to victory with 53 balls to spare. It was the largest margin of victory - in terms of balls remaining - this season.
Nasir Hossain, the captain, took his maiden T20 five-wicket haul, and he was assisted by the spin duo of Nabil Samad (3 for 7) and Sharifullah (2 for 32) as Chittagong were bowled out in the 12th over of their innings.
Nasir's double strike
As Sylhet displayed in their wicket-less chase, the pitch was not a difficult one to bat on. But Chittagong were adamant about being over-aggressive and paid a steep price for it. Luke Ronchi started the game off with a first-ball six off Nasir, but the Sylhet captain bowled his opposite number the very next ball. Four deliveries later, Soumya Sarkar, the other opener, checked his drive to a ball that held up after pitching, handing Nasir the easiest of catches. At the end of the first over, Chittagong's score read 7 for 2.
Nasir continued to chip away at the wickets, by bowling slow and maintaining a tight line. In his second over, he had the dangerous-looking Luis Reece lbw for 12. In this third, he trapped Tanbir Hayder plumb lbw with an arm ball. And in his last over, Nasir got one to bounce a little more than Stiaan van Zyl expected, forcing the batsman to mis-hit to midwicket. By the time Nasir bowled himself out, Chittagong were 45 for 6.
The Nabil, Sharifullah assist
Nasir may have finished with five wickets to his name, but Sylhet's other two spinners played important roles as well. They kept a check on Chittagong's scoring from the other end and took five wickets of their own. Their seven overs cost only 30 runs and ensured there wasn't a last-minute rearguard.
Fletcher, Rizwan make it look easy
The fact that there were no demons in the pitch was made amply clear when the Sylhet openers Andre Fletcher and Mohammad Rizwan cut, swept and pulled their way to an unbeaten partnership of 68 in 67 balls with ten fours and a six.
