DHAKA, Bangladesh, CMC – West Indies players Evin Lewis and Marlon Samuels both stroked half-centuries to power their respective franchises to victories in the Bangladesh Premier League here yesterday.
In the first game of a doubleheader at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, the left-handed Lewis carved out a typically stroke-filled 75 as Dhaka Dynamites defeated Rangpur Riders by 42 runs.
And in the nightcap encounter, Samuels hit a controlled unbeaten 55 to lead a successful Comilla Victorians run chase as they beat Darren Sammy’s Rajshahi Kings by eight wickets.
However, while the victory put Dynamites top of the standings with 14 points, Victorians moved off the bottom of the tables with only their third win of the campaign. They have six points.
Lewis took centre stage, hammering three fours and eight sixes off just 34 balls as Dynamites, opting to bat first, rallied to 188 for seven off their 20 overs.
The 24-year-old, who reached his half-century off 21 balls with a straight six off leg-spinner Shahid Afridi in the seventh over which cost 21 runs, put on 103 for the first wicket with Mehedi Maruf who made 44 from 31 deliveries.
Lewis was eventually third out at 122 in the 12th over, holing out in the deep off seamer Soumya Sarkar.
All-rounder Andre Russell, in his second game of the tournament, made just eight while Dwayne Bravo got 16.
In reply, Riders were limited to 146 for eight off their allotted overs, despite Ziaur Rahman’s 60 off 43 balls.
Samuels then followed Lewis’s cue, stroking two fours and four sixes in a 41-ball innings as Victorians, set a paltry 125 for victory, coasted to victory with eight balls remaining.
Imrul Kayes fell cheaply for nine but Samuels put on 90 for the second wicket with Pakistan’s Ahmed Shehzad (46) to pull the innings around.
Earlier, Sammy suffered the indignity of a one-ball ‘duck’ as Kings, choosing to bat, could only muster 124 for seven.
