BPL 2017, Match 24 Review: Rangpur Riders steal a last-ball finish from the grasp of Dhaka Dynamites

T20 matches are known for the nail-biting aspect that they bring to the game of cricket. A fine example of this was put forth in the 24th match of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) where Rangpur Riders pulled off a last-ball victory. Dhaka Dynamites were in for a shock as they fell short of the target by just 3 runs.

Having won the toss, Dhaka had opted to bowl first at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium and the decision seemed to work in their favour in the first leg of the match. Chris Gayle provided Rangpur Riders with the quickfire start they were looking for with a dazzling inning of 51 runs off 28 balls, but his opening partner, Brendon McCullum wasn’t able to stay at the crease for too long. After the Caribbean smash-hitting batsman’s wicket was picked up in the 8th over by Mosaddek Hossain, the rest of the batting fell apart for the Rangpur team.

The middle-order failed to perform and wickets toppled at regular intervals, drying up the run-flow as they went. Rangpur Riders were able to muster a meek total of 142 as they were bowled out with one delivery to spare. Opposition skipper, Shakib Al Hasan bowled spectacularly as he scalped 5 wickets at an economy of 4.2. Shahid Afridi picked up 2 wickets on his part but was a tad bit expensive at 39 runs in his spell of 4 overs.

Perera and Malinga pull off a win in the last overs

Coming in to bat, Shakib’s side would’ve been confident of sailing to victory but it was not be! The tactic of opening the innings with Sunil Narine backfired as he was dismissed for a duck. Opener, Evin Lewis and keeper, Jahurul Islam were the only significant contributors to their team’s chasing effort as they added 28 and 29 runs respectively. But Rangpur bowled superbly all throughout and pulled the game back which had looked to be one-sided.

In spite of a valiant effort by Boom Boom Afridi (21) later in the innings, the match went down to the wire with 10 runs required in the last over, owing to some splendid bowling by Lasith Malinga in the penultimate over. Kieron Pollard seemed to have done enough as he smashed a mammoth six over the mid-wicket boundary off the third ball in the last over off Thisara Perera‘s bowling but it was the bowler who had the last laugh.

With 4 runs required from the last 3 deliveries, Perera picked up Pollard and Abu Hider Rony on consecutive deliveries to bring the match home for his team in an absolutely nail-biting finish. Mashrafe Mortaza, Sohag Gazi, Rubel Hossain and Perera scalped 2 wickets apiece, grasping the much-needed 2 points for their side.

Brief Scores:

Rangpur Riders- 142/10 in 19.5 overs (Chris Gayle 51; Shakib Al Hasan 5/16 in 3.5 overs)

Khulna Titans- 139/10 in 20 overs (Jahurul Islam 29; Sohag Gazi 2/18 in 4 overs)

Player of the match- Chris Gayle