ESPNcricinfo staff
February 14, 2012
Dhaka Gladiators 208 for 5 (Mahmood 77*, Nazir 58) beat Barisal Burners 187 for 5 (Gayle 116) by 21 runs
Dhaka Gladiators needed three of their overseas pros to play explosive innings to outgun the marauding Chris Gayle. Imran Nazir made 58 off 35 balls, Azhar Mahmood 77 off 47 and Kieron Pollard 36 off 15 to lead the Gladiators to 208 for 5. Gayle came out swinging for Barisal Burners, clobbering 11 sixes on his way to 116 off 61 balls. A Gayle century usually ensures victory for his team. Not this time. The Gladiators had scored 21 too many.
Gayle did not have much support from his Burners team-mates. The Gladiators captain Mashrafe Mortaza, who took 2 for 20 in four overs, got Ahmed Shehzad and Mominul Haque cheaply, while Darren Stevens dismissed Brad Hodge for a duck. Mithun Ali made 38 off 32 balls but his supporting act wasn't substantial enough. When Gayle was dismissed, the Burners needed 46 off 2.3 overs, a task that was beyond them. They finished on 187 for 5.
The Gladiators' innings had also got off to a poor start - they were 19 for 2 after four overs. Mahmood and Nazir scored at a scorching pace, though, and by the time they were separated, the score was 105 in 11.4 overs. Pollard and Mahmood continued the blitz, with Pollard hitting five of his 15 balls for six. Yasir Arafat and Kabir Ali were the only Burners bowlers to concede fewer than ten runs an over.
Kabir Ali was playing for the Burners because he was a replacement for Shane Harwood, who was ruled out of the BPL with a toe injury.
