PCL T20 Chittagong 2009 Brothers claim T20 glory

Chamara Kapugedera's blitzkrieg and yet another captain's knock from Nafis Iqbal gave Chittagong Brothers Union the glamorous first-ever Habib Group Port-City Cricket League Twenty20 tournament title here at the MA Aziz Stadium yesterday. They defeated Dhaka Sports Club by six wickets in front of a full house 40,000-crowd with some fans sitting close to the boundary rope giving it a theatre feel.

With his side in huge trouble while chasing 147 set by Dhaka Sports, hometown boy Nafis had Sri Lankan international Kapugedara for company as the pair added an exciting 98 for the fourth wicket to ensure the much-coveted trophy stayed in Chittagong.

The victory also marked the return of Nafis Iqbal into the country's cricketing limelight after a few years in the oblivion and being slightly overshadowed by younger brother Tamim.

Nafis paced himself well and laced his 43-ball 53 with five superb boundaries as he played the holding role since the man at the other end -- Kapugedera -- took full charge. The stout Lankan rightly received the man-of-the-match award for his scintillating 31-ball 61 that had three sixes and six boundaries.

"We had the confidence that we can win the title if wickets are in hand. It was a wonderful effort and Kapugedara deserve a special mention. He played a key role in winning the final," Nafis told reporters after receiving the trophy from Chittagong City Mayor Mohiuddin Chowdhury.

Kapugedara, who only departed with the team needing six more runs, made way for Abdur Razzak (5*) who proceeded to smash Tigers teammate Shahadat Hossain to the boundary for the winning runs.

But it wasn't all plain sailing for Brothers. They struggled to get off to a good start, losing Jehan Mubarak (4) in the second over and Mehrab Hossain (8) in the fourth over leaving the team at 15 for 2 with both wickets going to Rashed Hanif. Their misery mounted further in the ninth over when Tushar Imran (6) was run out while trying to take an impossible second run.

But Nafis and Kapugedera combined well to add the 98 runs in just 56 balls. Hanif was the most successful Dhaka Sports bowler, picking up three for 15 but it was the reckless Shahadat and Ziaur Rahman who let the runs leak. Shahadat gave 31 off his 2.1 overs while semifinal hero Zia looked meek, giving away 17 in his only over.

However the Brothers bowlers were as tight as they could be in a 20-over bash with Razzak, Mubarak and Dollar Mahmud picking up two wickets each.

Dhaka Sports' innings was built around their Pakistani duo -- Wasim Nayeem and Hanif. The right-handed opener Nayeem lost opening partner Rashedur Rahman (1), skipper Rajin Saleh (0) and senior batsman Anisur Rahman but did not lose heart as he joined with Hanif to extend the innings.

Man-of-the-series Nayeem five fours and a couple of huge sixes in his 34 off 18 balls while Hanif struck 56 from 48 balls. But the duo's departure left Dhaka Sports struggling and although they reached a competitive 146 for nine, it was not enough for a rampant Brothers Union.

Truly the MA Aziz Stadium came back to life after several years as the locals flocked in huge numbers to enjoy a thrilling encounter that lasted less than four hours. In fact, this was the first floodlit match in the business capital after more than five years.

BRIEF SCORES
DHAKA SPORTS CLUB: 146 for 9 in 20 overs (Nayeem 34, Rashedur 1, Rajin 0, Anisur 7, Hanif 56, Ziaur 14, Wasel 6, Mashud 13, Taposh 1, Nahid 4*, Shahadat 1*; Razzak 2-32, Mubarak 2-28, Yunus 1-26, Shahjada 1-31, Dollar 2-28).
BROTHERS UNION: 148 for 4 in 18.1 overs (Mubarak 4, Nafees 53*, Tushar 6, Mehrab 8, Kapugedara 61, Razzak 5*; Hanif 3-15).
Result: Brothers Union won by six wickets.
Man-of-the-match: Chamara Kapugedara.
Man-of-the-series: Wasim Nayeem.