The commentary is not available for this match. Please check the scorecard for latest updates.
We now come to the conclusion of our coverage of the Bangladesh Premier League for the day. The Chattogram Challengers left a bit too much for the back end of the innings - Romario Shepherd had the crowd on their feet, but it was not to be for them. The Rangpur Riders continue on their merry way; having qualified for the playoffs, they'll look to seal a spot in the top two. We'll be back with more BPL coverage tomorrow - keep an eye on our tabs for the same, and a lot more! This is Rajarshi Das, signing off on behalf of Arya Sekhar Chakraborty. Good night - see you tomorrow!
Nurul Hasan Sohan, Rangpur Riders captain: Our team is playing really well, and we are looking forward to the next round. We are looking forward to finishing the league stage on a high. The wicket seamed a bit earlier, the way Shakib and Mahedi batted was brilliant for us, and they carried the momentum for us. In the first six overs, Dwaine Pretorius worked for us. We know our abilities with the ball and what the bowlers need to do in situations, remain calm. It was a great game. The business will start now, hope for the best.
Mahedi Hasan is the Player Of The Match! Here's what he has to say: We were struggling initially due to the nature of the wicket, was a bit seamy, helped the pacers. Shakib bhaai batted well, once I went in I played normal cricket. A couple of hits helped me gather momentum. A 100-run partnership the last time and a 50-run partnership today - to have an experienced player like Shakib at the other end makes batting easier, and that was the case with me. I've been bowling fairly well thus far in the tournament, we have a lot of all-rounders in the tournament, and I've been trying to make the most of my opportunities.
Shuvagata Hom Chowdhury, Chattogram Challengers captain: Outstanding batting from Shepherd, maybe had we scored a few more the over before that, the situation might have been different. I feel we fielded badly, and were poor with the ball at the death. We gave 20-25 runs more than what we wanted. We started off well with the ball, but couldn't get the breakthroughs towards the back end. Need to utilize the powerplay better to chase totals such as this one. We couldn't do that and lost 3 wickets instead. Shepherd tried in between, but hard luck for us. Was an exciting game, would have felt better to win the game, though.
Rangpur Riders won by 18 runs
Shakib Al Hasan 62/39 | Dwaine Pretorius 3/14(4) Romario Shepherd 66*(30) | Romario Shepherd 3/27(4)
It turned out to be a rather comprehensive victory for the Rangpur Riders as they restricted the Chattogram Challengers to winning the game by 18 runs. They were never in the run chase losing wickets at regular intervals of the game and the score of 187 proved to be way too much in the end. Dwaine Pretorius wreaked havoc with the new ball and bagged the dangerous Josh Brown in his very first over.
Tanzid Hasan tried to take the attack to the opposition and kept dancing down the track before nicking one straight to the keeper. Shyakat Ali also had a brief outing in the middle and the Challengers were reduced to 32/3 inside the powerplay. Captain Shuvagata Hom Chowdhury and Tom Bruce had to take the onus on them to keep the scoreboard moving. However, they struggled to get the boundaries which kept the required rate soaring up.
Hom scored a 19 ball 21 should Bruce chipped in with a run a ball 24 which wasn't the sort of innings which the Challengers were looking for when the asking rate was 9.50 from the outset. It was Mahedi Hasan who broke the partnership with a double scalp in his opening over. It was Romario Shepherd who finally provided some momentum to the innings by smoking a few lusty blows but still the required rate was a bit too much.
However, he didn't give up hope and kept smashing sixes at will. He kept smoking sixes at will and went on to race to a half-century in just 21 balls. However, it was just a bit too much even for his liking as they eventually felt agonisingly close to the victory target. Dwaine Pretorius was the pick of the bowlers for the Riders bagging three wickets while Mahedi chipped in with a couple. Shepherd was the top scorer for the Challengers with an unbeaten 66 of 30 deliveries which included 5 fours and 6 sixes.
20
overs
169/6score
2
0
4
0
0
4
runs
Romario Shepherd*
66(30)
Shohidul Islam
4(5)
Jimmy Neesham
0/42
19.6 James Neesham to Romario Shepherd, FOUR! Full, just outside off, Shepherd gets right under this one and lofts it over the man at mid off. The Rangpur Riders had a scare or two with Shepherd in the middle, but they clinch this one by 18 runs!
19.5 James Neesham to Romario Shepherd, full, wide outside off, Shepherd, having ambled down the wicket, looked to slice it over cover, missed
19.4 James Neesham to Romario Shepherd, banged in short just outside off, Shepherd looks to pull at it, meets thin air instead
19.3 James Neesham to Romario Shepherd, FOUR! Full, outside off stump, Shepherd has a swing at it, gets a thick outside edge, the ball flies over the man at short third and makes its way to the boundary