BPL 4, Match 23 Review: Rangpur Riders crush Titans to top the points table

It was the battle of heavyweights in BPL 4 on Tuesday. Table toppers Khulna Titans took on Rangpur Riders, who were just a win away from toppling Titans from the top. In their previous encounter earlier this season, the Riders had blown away the Titans by 9 wickets. The stage was set one more time for the big clash.

Khulna Titans skipper Mahmudullah won the toss and opted to bat first. The Titans stuck to the trend of the season. It has often been the team batting first in day games who have emerged victorious. The Titans brought in English pace Benny Howell in place of Kevon Cooper. Howell was a like for like replacement for Cooper.

The Rangpur Riders also made one change to their overseas combination. Sri Lankan spinner Sachithra Senanayake missed out and English tweaker Liam Dawson was drafted in. Arafat Sunny shared the new ball with Anwar Ali as the Khulna Titans came in to bat. For the Titans, Andre Fletcher (8) and Abdul Mazid (10) started the proceedings.

Both batsmen seemed to struggle as the pitch today was slightly different to the one that was used yesterday. The slowness of the wicket was evident from the beginning. Sunny dismissed both the openers in successive overs to restrict Titans to 33/2 after the powerplay.

The two in-form batsmen Riki Wessels and Mahmudullah were at crease as a result of opening failure. Skipper Mahmudullah was outdone by Shahid Afridi in the 8th over on 10. Taibur Rahman came in to join Wessels at the crease. Both batsmen kept the scorecard ticking but at a sluggish rate.

Afridi and Sohag Gazi choked the run-flow in the middle overs. Wessels and Rahman added 56 for the 4th wicket in 55 balls before Wessels was sent packing on 27 (33) by Rubel Hossain in the 17th over. Hossain got rid of Rahman too in the same over on 32 (37).

A quickfire 22 off 13 balls with 2 sixes and a four in the last couple of overs saw the Khulna Titans get past 120-run mark. They eventually posted 125/7 in their 20 overs. Rubel and Sunny were highly economical as they bagged 2 wickets each. Afridi bagged 2 wickets as well with a slightly higher economy rate.

The swashbuckling opening duo of Mohammad Shahzad and Soumya Sarkar walked in to chase the target. Rangpur Riders were clear favorites to win this one. The line up that they boasted off could have scared any opposition with 130 odd on the board. However, both Shahzad and Sarkar struggled to get their feet going in the middle.

Sarkar eventually perished after a sluggish 13-ball 3 in the 4th over. Mohammad Mithun was the new man in. With the target being a modest one, Shahzad took his time to settle in. Both batsmen played with caution and kept rotating the strike. Despite only 31 runs in the powerplay, the Rangpur Riders still looked a more confident outfit.

At one stage, with both batsmen scoring freely and rotating strike, it seemed that it was a deja vu of their previous encounter. The Riders were cruising towards another 9-wicket win. They have already won 3 matches this season with a margin as high as that.

But it was not to be the case today. Skipper Mahmudullah got the wicket of Mohammad Shahzad in the 14th over. Shahzad played an uncharacteristic knock of 37 off 38 balls with 4 fours and a six. Veteran Pakistani batsman Shahid Afridi was promoted up the order to finish things soon enough.

Both batsmen found it easy to inch closer to the target. The number of balls were never really a concern for the Riders. With just 4 needed in 14 balls, Afridi threw it away. He was dismissed on 26 off 20 balls by Benny Howell to bring Liam Dawson at the crease.

It was all formality after that. Mithun remained unbeaten on 49 off 41 deliveries with 1 four and 3 sixes. The Rangpur Riders won by 7 wickets and made it to the top spot in the points table.

Brief Scores:

Khulna Titans 125/7 in 20 overs (Rahman 32, Wessels 27, Sunny 2/16, Rubel 2/19)

Rangpur Riders 129/3 in 19 overs  (Mithun 49*, Shahzad 37,  Mahmudullah 1/14, Junaid 1/23)