BPL 2017, Match 38 Review: Rangpur Riders emerge victorious, qualify for play-offs

The clash between the Khulna Titans and the Rangpur Riders was bound to be an exciting one from the very outset of the match. Positioned one after the other on the points table at the third and fourth place respectively, it was highly improbable for either team to take their foot off the pedal in Sunday’s encounter. Rangpur Riders had the last laugh as they won the match by 19 runs and also qualified for the play-offs in the process.

Having won the toss, Khulna Titans’ skipper Mahmadullah opted to bowl first at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka. Rangpur Riders chose to ruffle up the batting order a bit to flummox the opposition and went with the opening pair of Chris Gayle and Ziaur Rahman. Although Rahman(8) failed to impress, Gayle looked his usual destructive self as he went berserk on the bowlers and smashed 4 boundaries and 2 sixers to bring up 38 runs off just 27 deliveries. The flamboyant Brendon McCullum joined in on the party as he constructed a quickfire knock worth 15 runs. However, the duo was unable to consolidate on their dazzling opening stand and in spite of getting to a flying start, Rangpur began to flail in the middle overs. Shaiful Islam and Mohammad Irfan brought the Khulna side back into the game as they dismissed McCullum and Gayle respectively.

The lower-middle order of the Rangpur Riders failed to perform in as crucial a match as this, save for the stunning unbeaten innings by wicket-keeper, Mohammad Mithun. It was his well-made half-century off 35 balls that ensured his side got to an at-par total of 147 runs as they’d looked utterly incapable of getting remotely close to the figure at one point of time in the innings. Rangpur skipper, Mashrafe Mortaza chipped in at the very end with his 15 runs off 11 balls; a contribution that lifted the team’s total as well as their morale. With almost every Khulna Titans bowler bowling good line and length throughout, Jofra Chioke Archer was the pick of the lot as he bagged 2 scalps at the end of the first innings while Mohammad Irfan maintained a meagre economy of 5.00 in his quota of 4 overs.

Rangpur Riders have the last laugh

Coming in to bat in the second innings, Khulna Titans had their work cut out for them on a pitch that tends to misbehave in the latter part of the day under the lights. Openers Nazmul Hossain Shanto(20) and Michael Klinger (44) gave their team the ideal start as they put together a 60-run partnership and it looked like Khulna were running away with the match. But the trouble began when Nazmul fell prey to his namesake, Nazmul Islam’s bowling in the eighth over. Thereon started a landslide for the batting order of the Khulna side that had no end. The run-flow dried up drastically and wickets plummeted at regular intervals.

All in all, the entire batting order put up an abysmal show, leading to a winnable match slipping out of Khulna’s grasp. The fact that the Mahmadullah-led side lost 8 wickets for just 51 runs tells the entire story of the crushing defeat that the team had to face. Apart from Isuru Udana (4-0-37-1), who was a tad bit costly, all the Rangpur bowlers executed their plans of action splendidly, picked up wickets and restricted the run flow to hammer the last nail on Khulna Titans’ coffin, leading their team to victory by a 19-run margin and more importantly, a seat in the play-offs.

Brief Scores

Rangpur Riders: 147-6 in 20 overs (Mohammad Mithun 50*, Jofra Chioke Archer 2/28 in 4 overs)

Khulna Titans: 128-8 in 20 overs (Michael Klinger 44, Ravi Bopara 2/4 in 2 overs)

Player of the match: Mohammad Mithun