Sports Reporter :
Rangpur Riders registered a narrow 12-run win over Barisal Bulls in their match of the AKS Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 Cricket at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong on Thursday.
Batting first Rangpur Riders piled up a massive 175 for the loss of six wickets in 20 overs.
In reply, Barisal Bulls were all out for 163 off 19.4 overs.
Barisal Bulls faced early batting collapse as they lost their early two wickets for 18 runs.
Opener Dilshan Munaweera (0) was caught behind by wicketkeeper Mohammad Shahzad off Sohag Gazi before Barisal had opened the account.
Then one-down Shahriar Nafees (12) was stumped out by Shahzad off Sohag Gazi when Barisal’s score was 18 for the loss of two wickets.
Then opener Jeevan Mendis and Mushfiqur Rahim added 30 runs before Mushfiqur Rahim (12) was stumped out by Mohammad Shahzad off Liam Dawson when Barisal’s total was 48 for the loss of three wickets.
Then Jeevan Mendis and Nadif Chowdhury repaired the damage contributing together 74 runs before Nadif Chowdhury was caught by Soumya Sarkar off Shahid Afridi when Barisal’s score was 122 for the loss of four wickets.
Jeevan Mendis made a superb 57 from 53 balls featuring three sixes and three fours while Nadif Chowdhury hit a quick-fire 41 off 25 balls including three sixes.Mendis was caught behind by Mohammad Shahzad off Shahid Afridi when Barisal’s score was 135 for the loss of five wickets.
Sohag Gazi, Shahid Adridi and Rubel Hossain helped their side to earn the victory.
Sohag Gazi grabbed three wickets at the cost of 19 runs, while Shahid Afridi and Rubel Hossain bagged a pair of wickets for 31 and 36 runs respectively.
Then Mohammad Shahzad (14), the other opener was caught at the short third-man by Shahriar Nafees off Taijul Islam when Rangpur’s total was 46 for the loss of two wickets.
Mohammad Mithun hammered a superb 62. His 44-ball innings was laced with six fours and two sixes.
Then Liam Dawson and Shahid Afridi added together 35 runs for the fourth wicket partnership before Afridi (22) was caught at the cover by Dilshan Munaweera off Thisara Perera when Rangpur’s total was 159 for the loss of four wickets.
Dawson hit a polished 46. His 36-ball innings was belted with three fours and a sixer. Taijul Islam and Thisara Perera bagged a pair of wickets each for 27 and 31 runs respectively.
