SYLHET, Bangladesh, CMC – West Indies ODI star Shai Hope sparkled with a sublime, unbeaten 91 but his Twenty20 International counterpart Johnson Charles eclipsed him with breathtaking unbeaten hundred, as Comilla Victorians produced a stellar run chase to beat Khulna Tigers by seven wickets here yesterday.
In a high-scoring contest in the Bangladesh Premier League at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, Victorians made light of their target of 211, getting over the line with 10 balls to spare.
Charles masterminded the brilliant run chase with a career-best 107 not out from 56 deliveries, while counting five fours and 11 sixes.
Importantly, Mohammad Rizwan pummeled 73 from 39 deliveries, including eight fours and four sixes, the Pakistan star adding a rollicking 122 for the third wicket with Charles.
Captain Hope had earlier provided the core of Tigers’ 210 for two from their 20 overs, stroking five fours and seven sixes in a classy 55-ball innings.
Mahmudul Hasan Joy perished for one in the third over with 13 runs on the board before Hope and opener Tamim Iqbal took the innings by the scruff of its neck in a 184-run second wicket partnership.
Left-hander Tamim top-scored with 95 from 61 deliveries, smashing 11 fours and four sixes before falling to the first ball of the final over.
Victorians then had a poor start to their run chase when Litton Das retired hurt for four after the second ball of the run chase and captain Imrul Kayes departed in the third over for five, to leave the innings stumbling on 22 for one.
Charles, however, a member of the West Indies side at the recent Twenty20 World Cup in Australia, collared the Tigers attack in a dominant display of attacking.
The 34-year-old right reached his fifty off 35 balls with the last of three sixes in the 13th over from Pakistani seamer Amad Butt which leaked 23 runs, and needed only another 18 deliveries to reach triple figures – achieving the landmark with another six off Butt in the 18th over.
Charles has scored 216 runs from six outings in the BPL this season, averaging 54.