BPL 4, Match 30, Review: Rangpur Riders stunned by Gayle-Tamim fireworks

The Rangpur Riders have by far been the most consistent side in the season so far. Chittagong Vikings had a stiff ask ahead of them when they faced the riders in the 30th match of the season. They were bolstered by the comeback of the big man Chris Gayle in their line up. No wonder why the crowds were highly excited about the game.

With the tournament closing in on the league stage very quickly, a win was very important for both sides. The pitch had already shown its sluggish nature during the day game at the venue. The Rangpur Riders opted to bat after winning the toss.

They brought back all-rounder Shahid Afridi in their starting eleven and Nasir Jamshed had to miss out. The Chittagong Vikings had the big Jamaican Chris Gayle in their playing eleven. His West Indies teammate Dwayne Smith had to miss out from the starting eleven. Soumya Sarkar was back in the opening slot with Mohammad Shahzad.

Shahzad, after having made such a promising start to the season, struggled yet again. Runs were hard to come by for the Afghan national. Soumya Sarkar had to step in the aggressor’s shoes seeing Shahzad struggling to time the ball. Sarkar plundered 26 off 21 balls with 2 fours and a six before being the first man to be dismissed. Subashis Roy got the breakthrough for the Chittagong Vikings in the 6th over. The Rangpur Riders finished up scoring 37 in the powerplay.

Mohammad Mithun was the new man in. Both Shahzad and Mithun perished in space of 3 balls to keep Rangpur Riders shaky at 62/3 at the half way stage. Taskin Ahmed cleaned up Mithun (12 off 10 balls) on the 4th ball of the 10th over and then got through the defences of Shahzad (21 off 28 balls) on the last ball of the same over.

Skipper Naeem Islam was retired hurt after playing just 4 balls. This came as a massive dent for the Riders. Shahid Afridi and Liam Dawson were left with the task of rebuilding the innings from thereon. Afridi was not his usual either and could score just 13 (14) before falling to Mohammad Nabi in the 16th over.

Dawson perished in the same over by Nabi on 14 (18). The Riders were going nowhere from that stage. At 98/5 in 16 overs and a batsman retired hurt, they were hoping for a miracle to take them over the 120-run mark. Late hitting by Anwar Ali (20* off 13 balls) eventually saw Rangpur Riders finish on 124/6 in 20 overs. Nabi and Taskin bagged 2 wickets each.

In walked swashbuckling opening duo of Tamim Iqbal and Chris Gayle. The duo look threatening on paper and are even more dangerous on the field. Little did the Rangpur Riders know that they were up against the storm of Tamim and Gayle. Gayle hammered 4 sixes and 2 fours to announce his arrival in style.

Striking at a strike rate of over 150, Chris Gayle eventually departed on 40 (26) in the 9th over. All this happened after the Chittagong Vikings had made a sluggish start with just 30 runs in the powerplay. The next 3 overs saw 40 runs being scored and Gayle perishing to Shahid Afridi. Anamul Haque joined Tamim at the crease.

Gayle departed and Tamim got in the groove. The Chittagong Vikings skipper brought up his third fifty of the season and the Vikings crossed the 100-run mark. It was only a matter of time that they overhauled the modest target. The Vikings thumped the Rangpur Riders by 9 wickets to move to the third spot in the points table. Tamim remained unbeaten on 62 off 48 balls with 9 fours and a six. Anamul’s run-a-ball unbeaten 22 saw him hit one six.

Brief Scores:

Rangpur Riders: 124/6 in 20 overs (Sarkar 26, Shahzad 21, Taskin 2/25, Nabi 2/31)

Chittagong Vikings: 128/1 in 16 overs (Tamim 62*, Gayle 40, Afridi 1/25)