BPL 2016: Rangpur arrest losing streak; Rajshahi stay in contention
Mohammad Shahzad injected impetus to the Riders’ innings with a quick-fire 48 off 40 balls
Rangpur Riders versus Barisal Bulls
The contest between Barisal Bulls and Rangpur Riders was poised to be a thriller as both teams rummaged for breathing space to stay alive in the tournament. More than Rangpur, it was a do-or-die contest for the Bulls. Rangpur hit the right chords from the word go to beat the Bulls by 29 runs.
Rangpur Riders won the toss and decided to bat first. Mohammad Shahzad and Soumya Sarkar commenced proceedings for the Riders. They weren’t allowed to get away as Barisal tied them down in the initial three overs and Sarkar, after a playing couple of scintillating strokes, succumbed to a leading edge of Kamrul Islam Rabbi.
Mohammad Mithun was the next man in for the Riders. Monir Khan, with figures of 2-0-6-0, was hard to be gauged during the power-plays and Rangpur walked along to 41/1 at the end of six overs. Even Shahzad was finding it hard to time the ball to perfection.
The partnership between Mithun and Shahzad wasn’t taking the game away from the Bulls, but was in a process of setting the platform. Shahzad went at a run a ball, pretty uncharacteristic of him, but the good news was that he was still there for the Riders as they moved along to 64/1 at the close of 10 overs.
The next four overs had the boundaries peppered by both batsmen. Against the run of play, in the 15th over, Shahzad was trapped right in front by Rayad Emrit to give Barisal their second scalp and ended an ominous looking partnership of 76 from 63 balls. Shahid Afridi joined Mithun in the middle. At the end of 15 overs, Rangpur were placed handsomely at 109/2 at the end of 15 overs.
With wickets in hand and five overs to go, Rangpur were all set to accelerate their way to a healthy score. Shahid Afridi hoicked a six off Kamrul Islam, but perished in the next ball as he flat-batted a shot into the hands of mid-off.
Barisal held the Riders back until the last over in which 16 runs were plundered off Kamrul Islam. Ziaur Rahman slapped a couple to the boundary and Liam Dawson deposited one out of the park to elevate Rangpur Riders to 154/5 in 20 overs.
Sohag Gazi's spell of 4-0-12-2 turned detrimental in Barisal’s chase
Barisal Bulls had to achieve the target in 14.4 overs to stay in contention for a playoff berth. Rayad Emrit was promoted to open, but it backfired as he perished to Sohag Gazi, holing out to short third man. Mushfiqur Rahim followed suit in the same over which left Barisal reeling.
Dawid Malan, meanwhile crashed three boundaries off Anwar Ali to inject impetus to the innings. Jeevan Mendis hit some lusty blows before being cleaned up by Naeem Islam. It was all about either hit out or get out for the Bulls.
At the end of six overs, Barisal racked up 48 runs losing three wickets in the process. They were left with nine more overs to make any sort of an impact. It was all up to Malan and Fazle Mahmud to get things in place for the Bulls.
A smart piece of glove-work by Shahzad halted Mahmud’s breezy knock of 21 from 16 balls as Boom Boom Afridi picked up his first wicket. The Bulls lost half their side when Malan feathered an edge down the leg side to the keeper off Anwar Ali’s bowling.
It was all too dreary for the Bulls as they sprawled along to 71/5 at the end of 10 overs. Afridi pinned down Thisara Perera to leave the Bulls in shambles. At the end of 15 overs, even the conventional target was looking daunting with the Bulls requiring 50 in 30 balls.
It was all about fighting a lost cause for the Bulls as they folded for 125 in the 19th over of the innings. Rubel Hossain cleaned the tail up with two unplayable yorkers as Rangpur ended a four-match losing streak.
Man of the Match; Mohammad Shahzad
Brief Scores
Rangpur Riders
| Batsman | Runs | Bowlers | Figures |
| Mohammad Shahzad | 48(40) | Thissara Perera | 2/26 |
| Mohammad Mithun | 38(41) | Kamrul Islam Rabbi | 2/39 |
| Ziaur Rahman | 23*(17) | Rayad Emrit | 1/32 |
| Total: 154/5 (20 overs) |
Barisal Bulls
| Batsman | Runs | Bowlers | Figures |
| Dawid Malan | 30(23) | Sohag Gazi | 2/12 |
| Thissara Perera | 24(17) | Shahid Afridi | 2/24 |
| Fazle Mahmud | 21(16) | Rubel Hossain | 2/21 |
| Total: 125/10 (18.2 overs) |
Rangpur Riders beat Barisal Bulls by 29 runs
Chittagong Vikings versus Rajshahi Kings
Chris Gayle's demise at the hands of Afif Hossain was the moment of the day
It was a day for the Rajshahi Kings, the credit for which first goes to an effervescent 17-year-old spinner in Afif Hossain and then to a wily old left-hand batsman James Franklin. The Kings were unstoppable on their day as they routed Chittagong Vikings by 6 wickets.
Rajshahi Kings won the toss and decided to field first. The decision paid dividends as Kesrick Williams struck first blood, cleaning up Tamim Iqbal in the first ball of the match. Anamul Haque joined Chris Gayle after Tamim’s departure.
Mehedi Hasan Miraz castled Anamul Haque in the next over to leave Chittagong at 9/2. Jahurul Islam tried to rattle the 17-year-old Afif Hossain, but was unluckily given LBW off an inside-edge. At the close of the power-play Chittagong were staring down the barrel with the score at 29/3.
Afif’s fairytale debut continued as he showed the door to the gigantic Christopher Henry Gayle, yorking him to demolish the timber. Afif Hossain piled on the wickets as Zakir Hasan chipped a lofted shot into the palms of deep cover. He later went on to pick up five wickets for 21 runs.
It was all up to the experienced heads of Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Nabi to manufacture a comeback. At the end of 10 overs, the Vikings’ innings went nowhere with the score at 53 for the loss of five vital wickets.
In the 12th over, Mohammad Nabi was stumped by Nurul Hasan to set the cat among the pigeons in the Vikings dugout. Wickets went down in a heap with runs coming at the rate of peanuts. Vikings’ batsmen were at sea against the debutant Afif Hossain as he cantered along to a five-wicket haul.
Leave alone setting a competitive score, at 70/8 in the 14th over Vikings were in danger of not playing their quota of 20 overs. Shoaib Malik looked like the only batsman ready to fight, reaching his half century in 42 balls. He, single-handedly, with an innings of 67 off 54 balls, helped Rajshahi post 111 runs.
James Franklin’s 63 from 27 balls helped the Kings in achieving the target within 15 overs
Chasing 112, Rajshahi got off to a steady start, scoring 25 off the first four overs. Mominul got a few off to the boundary to get things moving for the Kings. Nurul Hasan Sohan was looking solid too, but Saqlain Sajib sneaked through Hasan’s defence to give Chittagong their first breakthrough.
At the close of six overs, Rajshahi were motoring along at 32/1. Saqlain Sajib, however, wasn’t allowing the Kings to get away. He got the better of Mominul Haque to present Chittagong with a sniff of an opportunity.
James Franklin looked in decent touch from the time he faced his first delivery. At the 10 over mark, Rajshahi was sitting pretty at 62/2. With 50 runs required from the last 60 balls, it was a matter of time before Rajshahi closed the match out.
37 year young James Franklin carted the bowlers round the park. Imran Khan went for 15 runs in the 11th over, but trapped Sabbir Rahman in front of the stumps to make amends and give Chittagong their 3rd scalp.
Darren Sammy fell prey to Imran Khan Jnr, spooning a lofted stroke to the man at deep mid-wicket. Nonetheless, James Franklin was in a hurry to finish things off as he raced away to his half-century in 23 balls, decorated by three scorching boundaries and four humongous skyscrapers.
He, finally, finished off in grand style with a couple of boundaries off Taskin Ahmed. Rajshahi Kings, therefore, beat Chittagong Vikings by six wickets and remain in contention for a play-off berth.
Man of the match: Afif Hossain
Brief Scores
Chittagong Vikings
| Batsman | Runs | Bowlers | Figures |
| Shoaib Malik | 67*(54) | Afif Hossain | 5/21 |
| Jahurul Islam | 13(10) | Kesrick Williams | 2/11 |
| Mohammad Nabi | 12(7) | Nazmul Islam | 1/23 |
| Total: 111/9 (20 overs) |
Rajshahi Kings
| Batsman | Runs | Bowlers | Figures |
| James Franklin | 63*(27) | Saqlain Sajib | 2/9 |
| Mominul Haque | 21(28) | Imran Khan Jnr | 2/30 |
| Nurul Hasan | 12(12) | Mohammad Nabi | 0/30 |
| Total: 112/4 (13.5 overs) |
Rajshahi Kings beat Chittagong Vikings by 6 wickets