In the first contest of the day the Riders won the toss and invited the Sixers to bat first, losing Nurul Hasan (5) and Nasir Hossain (4), cheaply, and then Andre Fletcher for 26, all dismissals down to the bowling of Nazmul Islam.
Baba Azam and Sabbir Rahman then led a recovery for the Sixers with a stand of 74, before that man Islam struck again, this time running out Azam for 54. Rahman fell to Mashrafe Mortaza for 44, but a useful last stand of 23 saw Ross Whitely (17 not out) and Tim Bresnan (16 not out) guide the Sixers to a final total of 173/5 off their 20 overs.
The Riders reached their target with 2 balls to spare. Despite the early loss of Chris Gayle for just 5, Ziaur Rahman and Brendon McCulloch kept Rangur in touch with the asking rate, as Rahman scored 36 and McCulloch 43, both hitting a couple of sixes each in their innings. Mohammad Mithun made 18, and Samiullah Shenwari was run out for a duck, but Ravi Bopara hit a valuable 33, before he was also run out. However, captain Mortaza combined with man of the match Islam to see their side home, both unbeaten on 17 and 14 respectively.
If the first match was a close-run affair, the second was anything but, as the Victorians thumped the Titans to claim an easy victory.
It was the Titans who won the toss and decided to bat, but delivered one of their poorest performances of the season as they were bowled all out for 111. Ariful Haque top scored with 24 but, in truth, few of their batsmen will look back on the match with any pride, as the Victorians’ bowlers dominated. Shoaib Malik took 3 for 14, and Al-Amin Hossain 3 for 20, with the other bowlers sharing the remaining wickets.
The Comilla batsmen then showed their opponents how it should be done reaching their target for the loss of only one wicket – Liton Das who fell to the bowling of Kyle Abbott for 21 – and with more than 6 overs to spare. Captain Tamim Iqbal carried his bat for 64, and Imrul Kayes was not out for 22, as the Victorians cruised to victory.