Chattogram hobble to 89-9 against Sylhet

Sylhet Strikers captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza ans Chattogram Challengers captain Shuvagata Hom at the coin toss before their BPL 2023 match at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on 6 January, 2023Shamsul Hoque

Chattogram Challengers posted a paltry 89-9 against Sylhet Sixers in the opening match of the ninth edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on Friday.

In a match that began 30 minutes ahead of schedule after Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) changed the match time 90 minutes before the game started, Sylhet asked Chattogram to bat first.

Sylhet pacer Rejaur Rahman claimed 4-14 while Pakistan's Mohammad Amir bagged 2-7 in his four overs in an innings dominated by the bowlers.

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Only three batters got into double figures for Chattogram, of which Afif Hossain top scored with 25 off 23 balls.

The trouble began for Chattogram from the powerplay, where they lost Mehedi Maruf (11) and Darwish Rasool (three) and reached 21-2 after six overs.

Things worsened for Chattogram when skipper Shuvagata Hom (one) departed in the seventh over, becoming Rejaur’s first victim of the day.

Chattogram’s overseas middle-order batters, Pakistan’s Usman Khan (two) and India’s Unmukt Chand (five), also departed cheaply to Rejaur.

Afif looked like the only batter who could’ve pushed Chattogram’s total beyond 100.

But once he departed as the eighth batter in the 16th over, getting caught behind the wicket against Mohammad Amir, Chattogram’s hopes of posting a decent total disappeared.