Flamboyant Mohammad Nabi whacks down target of 184

Chittagong Vikings, helped along by knocks from Mohammad Nabi and Shoaib Malik, executed a brilliant chase of 184 to upend Comilla Victorians in front of a packed home crowd. The win put the team in the top four, while Comilla were left at the bottom of the points table after their sixth defeat of the tournament.

Two important partnerships - first between Tamim Iqbal and Anamul Haque, and then between Malik and Nabi - got them close to the target before Nabi coolly blasted sixes off Sohail Tanvir and Mohammad Saifuddin to finish the chase with four balls to spare.

With 17 required off two overs, Tanvir removed Shoaib Malik for a 25-ball 38 and ended the 64-run fourth-wicket stand, off the first ball of the penultimate over.

Pressure rose through dot balls but Nabi's high six over square-leg and single off the last ball kept Chittagong ahead with eight needed off the last over. Mashrafe Mortaza gave the ball to Saifuddin, who had conceded 30 runs in his previous three overs, and Nabi edged him for a four off the first ball. The next ball was slammed for a six over long-on, Nabi's second in an innings of 46 off 24 balls which also included five fours.

Dwayne Smith had given Chittagong a rapid start by hitting five boundaries within the first eleven deliveries of the chase. Mashrafe Mortaza trapped him leg-before in the third over but Comilla missed a chance to take more control in the game when Imrul Kayes failed to hold on a catch at deep square-leg, offered by Tamim on 5.

Tamim went on to add 62 runs for the second wicket with Anamul Haque, and both batsmen kept pace with the required run rate. Tamim, who made 30 off 27 balls, fell to Ryan ten Doeschate in the 10th over, and in the bowler's next over, Anamul was dismissed for 40 off 30 balls, leaving Chittagong with a target of 81 runs in 8.2 overs.

Malik and Nabi took time to settle before taking 25 runs off the 15th and 16th overs. Comilla also fielded poorly, letting straight balls go through for fours on the off side on two occasions.

Earlier, Comilla put up their highest score in the tournament, 183 for 3, thanks to two 50-plus partnerships. Khalid Latif was the common factor: he shared a 68-run second-wicket stand with Imrul Kayes, who made 36 off 26 balls, before adding 70 for the third wicket with Ahmed Shehzad.

Latif found his groove in the stand with Imrul, hitting his first six over midwicket, while Imrul struck three fours and a six before being run out by Tamim off a direct hit from mid-off. Latif then clattered Nabi for three sixes over square-leg and long-on in the 14th over. Shehzad, meanwhile, helped Comilla's final flourish with five boundaries in his unbeaten 40. Latif was run-out in the last over for 76 off 53 balls, which included six fours and five sixes.