CHATTOGRAM, Bangladesh, CMC – Newly recruited West Indies seamer Matthew Forde played a key role as Comilla Victorians aimed for the top of the Bangladesh Premier League with a seven-wicket win over Evin Lewis’ Khula Tigers on Wednesday.
The 21-year-old Forde, who played all three One-Day Internationals in West Indies’ series Down Under earlier this month, picked up two for 36 to help restrict Tigers to 164 for eight off their 20 overs at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.
Lewis top-scored with 36 from 20 balls with three fours and two sixes, while opener Afif Hossain (29), Mahmudul Hasan Joy (28), and Alex Hales (22) chipped in with minor roles.
Afif and Hales put on 32 for the first wicket before Forde broke the stand by bowling right-hander Hales in the fifth over, but Afif added a further 37 for the second wicket with Anamul Haque (18) to maintain his side’s momentum.
Lewis took up the mantle when both fell, spearheading a 57-run, fourth-wicket partnership with Mahmudul Hasan to get the Tigers up to their eventual score.
In reply, Victorians lost Litton Das (2) cheaply, but Man-of-the-Match Towhid Hridoy lashed 91 off 47 deliveries to marshall the chase.
He crunched seven fours and seven sixes, posting 41 for the second wicket with opener Will Jacks (18) and a further 40 for the third with West Indies batsman Johnson Charles, who made 13.
When Charles slapped 21-year-old seamer Nahid Rana to mid-off to depart in the eighth, Towhid found an ally in Jaker Ali (40 not out) to add 84 in an unbroken fourth-wicket partnership, which saw Victorians over the line with 21 balls to spare.
Victorians are second in the league on 14 points, only behind leaders Rangpur Riders due to an inferior net run rate.
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