Vikings plunder Superstars

Chittagong's spectators finally got the treat they had been waiting for ever since the start of this week, as the home team romped to a ten-wicket win over the Sylhet Superstars at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday.

This was only the second time that a team managed to complete a ten-wicket win in the Bangladesh Premier League.

It was a kind of dominant performance that Tamim Iqbal had been consistently asking of his teammates. Each and every Chittagong bowler got wickets and for once it wasn't just Mohammad Amir who dominated the wickets column.

And the way Tillakaratne Dilshan fired yesterday, Tamim must have been more than content.

After restricting Sylhet for a below-par 139, Chittagong coasted home with four overs remaining as both the openers smashed half-centuries.

Sylhet's bowlers didn't seem to know what had hit them as Tamim and Dilshan launched a brutal attack right from the first ball. The intention was clear after Tamim drove Mohammad Shahid for three boundaries in the first over.

Dilshan hit the sweet part of the bat more than once and signs of him being a dangerous customer were evident when he twice scooped Rubel Hossain for two boundaries in the sixth over.

At the end of ten overs the Vikings raced to 97 for no loss. It was only after the tenth over that they decided to slow down a bit, presumably to complete a perfect finish; a mission which they eventually accomplished.

The duo put on the highest opening stand of his season's BPL -- 140. While Tamim smacked 67 off 51 deliveries, Dilshan hit the same off 46 in a near identical effort. Tamim hit eight fours, while Dilshan finished with six fours and three sixes.

Earlier, Afridi, playing his first match of the BPL, hammered four sixes and five fours during his 41-ball 62 and helped revive Sylhet from a precarious 46 for 5.

The Pakistan batsman initially dealt in singles, but once he got set, he started smacking boundaries. While he was dropped once in the 12th over and skied quite a few deliveries, he remained at the crease till the 18th over and helped bring Sylhet to a respectable total.

He was bowled by his Pakistan compatriot Mohammad Amir in the 18th, courtesy of a brilliant out-swinger that squared-up the batsman.

After Afridi's dismissal Sylhet managed to post just 14 runs off the last 17 balls.