BPL 4, Match 17 Review: Clinical Rangpur Riders too much to handle for Comilla Victorians

It has been contrasting fortunes for Rangpur Riders and Comilla Victorians in the BPL this year. The Riders started off well, lost their plot midway, and then got back to winning ways. The Comilla Victorians have not looked like the defending champions one bit. They have struggled to get their act together with the bat and the ball.

Coming into the 17th match of the season, the Victorians were desperate to get a win under their belt. For the Rangpur Riders, it was about seeking the winning momentum. Naeem Islam won the toss for the Rangpur Riders and opted to bowl first. They roped in the services of Anwar Ali for the match.

The Comilla Victorians went in with the combination of Sohail Tanvir, Ahmed Shehzad, Marlon Samuels and Rashid Khan as their overseas players. Liton Das opened the innings with Imrul Kayes. Both the openers went cheaply inside the power play overs. The Victorians could add up only 21 runs in the power play. Liton Das was run out on 4 and Sohag Gazi dismissed Imrul on 5. The two overseas stars, Ahmed Shehzad and Marlon Samuels, then did the job of rebuilding the sinking ship.

They batted sensibly to bail out the Victorians out of trouble. However, the Rangpur Riders were successful in choking the run flow. The duo added 64 runs for the 3rd wicket in 62 balls before Anwar Ali got rid of Shehzad on 52 (45) in the 17th over. Samuels paraded along and took the majority of the strike in the last 3 overs. He reached his fifty too. Samuels also scored 52. His knock came off 46 balls with 3 fours and a couple of sixes. He was dismissed on the second last ball of the innings.

Rubel Hossain’s twin strike on the last two balls of the innings saw Comilla Victorians post a meagre 122/5 in their 20 overs. With the likes of Mohammad Shahzad and Shahid Afridi in the opposition, the Victorians had a lot to fear.

The Rangpur Riders made a steady start to their run chase. Both openers Soumya Sarkar and Mohammad Shahzad got starts to their individual scores. It was in the 4th over when skipper Mashrafe Mortaza struck. He dismissed Sarkar on 22 off 15 balls with 2 fours and a six. Mohammad Mithun arrived at the crease to join Shahzad.

Both Shahzad and Mithun found it very easy at the middle at they crept along slowly yet easily to inch close to the target. The Comilla Victorians skipper Mashrafe Mortaza tried his best to deploy different fielders at different positions but all in vain. His bowling changes could not impact the Rangpur Riders either.

It was only a matter a matter of time when Rangpur Riders chased down the target. They eased past the target set by the Victorians in 17 overs with 9 wickets in hand. Mohammad Shahzad remained unbeaten on 51 off 49 balls with 2 fours and 3 sixes. Mohammad Mithun’s unbeaten 45 off 39 came along with a four and 3 sixes.

This was the 3rd 9-wicket win for the Rangpur Riders in this edition of the BPL. Comilla Victorians have now lost 5 matches in a row.

Brief Scores:

Comilla Victorians 122/5 in 20 overs (Shehzad 52, Samuels 52, Rubel 2/27, Gazi 1/7)

Rangpur Riders 126/1 in 17 overs (Shahzad 51*, Mithun 45*, Mortaza 1/20)