BPL 4, Match 25 Review: Rajshahi Kings halt merry run of Rangpur Riders

Rangpur Riders have by and large been the team to beat in the ongoing edition of the BPL. The Rajshahi Kings, on the other hand, have been largely inconsistent under Darren Sammy. Action resumed in the BPL after a two-day break. Both sides locked horns in an important encounter. With the tournament reaching its business end, all matches are of great importance now.

Coming in to the match, it was Rangpur Riders skipper Naeem Islam, who won the toss. He decided to bowl first and the Rajshahi Kings had a stiff task in hand. The Riders roped in Nasir Jamshed and Anwar Ali in their playing eleven. A key member to miss out on the crunch game was Shahid Afridi. The Rajshahi Kings fielded the Pakistani pacer Mohammad Sami in their starting eleven.

Rajshahi Kings had a disappointing start as they lost their opener Mominul Haque cheaply on 4. It was Sohag Gazi yet again who bagged a wicket in the powerplay. In-form batter Sabbir Rahman joined Junaid Siddique at the crease. The duo stabilised the innings to put on 51 runs in the power play.

However, Rahman departed on the very first ball after the powerplay as he was stumped by Mohammad Shahzad off the bowling of Arafat Sunny. Rahman scored 31 off 24 balls with 4 fours and a six.

Junaid Siddique departed soon after on 23 as he was dismissed by Liam Dawson. Samit Patel struggled for his 18-ball 17 before becoming Dawson’s second scalp of the match. Mehedi Hasan perished soon too. It was down to the old horses Umar Akmal and Darren Sammy to lead a fightback from 92/5.

They did  a brilliant job to help Rajshahi go past the 150-run mark. Sammy’s knock was remarkable as he was the aggressor in the partnership. He scored an unbeaten 44 of just 18 balls with 3 fours and 4 sixes. Akmal remained not out on 33 off 30 balls as they added 70 runs for the sixth wicket – an unbeaten stand. Rajshahi Kings ended on 162/5 in thei sipulated 20 overs.

With Mohammad Shahzad in the chasing mood, the Rangpur Riders fancied their chances of winning this one. However Shahzad looked uneasy at the crease. So was Nasir Jamshed, who struggled in hif first game of the season. With just 25 runs added in the powerplay, the Rangpur Riders were struggling. Shahzad’s struggle ended when he was bowled by Nazmul Islam on 18 (26) in the 7th over.

Jamshed was joined by Mohammad Mithun at the crease. While Mithun looked in a destructive touch, Jamshed’s struggle continued. Jamshed eventually perished after scoring a 28-ball 27 in the 11th over. Meanwhile, Mithun took special liking to Farhad Reza and hit few brilliant shots. Wickets kept tumbling at the other end though. The likes of Soumya Sarkar, Anwar Ali and Liam Dawson could not do much.

Mithun was fighting a lone battle. He reached his fifty but could see the ship sinking. He remained unbeaten on 64 off 36 balls with 3 fours and 4 sixes as Rangpur Riders fell short by 12 runs in the end. It meant a decent win for the Rajshahi Kings. The Riders could manage 150/5 in their 20 overs. Nazmul Islam was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/19.

Brief Scores:

Rajshahi Kings 162/4 in 20 overs (Sammy 44*, Akmal 33*, Dawson 2/15, M Ali 1/5)

Rangpur Riders 150/5 in 20 overs (Mithun 64, Jamshed 27, N Islam 2/19, Sami 1/26)