BSS, Chittagong :
Rajshahi King’s English recruit Samit Patel’s scintillating 75 off 38 balls enabled his team to record a magnificent three wickets win over Dhaka Dynamites in the crucial Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) match held on Monday at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.
This victory revived Rajshahi’s hope for the top four places as they stopped Dhaka going on to top of the points table. Rajshahi Kings shrug off their previous match defeat against Comilla has now accumulated 6 points from 7 outing while Dhaka had to remain to their eight points from 8 matches.
Kings reached their target with a ball to spare as they reached 184 for 7 when they were set to score a healthy 183 to win 20 overs.
Samit Patel and Opener Mominul Haque set the tempo for Rajshahi with an exciting 100 runs partnership off 10.3 overs. When it looked this duo has pulled the rug off Dhaka’s feet, Mominul departed for a well made 56 off 42 balls. English all rounder Samit continued his hammering of the Dhaka bowlers at the other end. But Dhaka’s skipper Shakib came back strongly to dismiss
Samit for a superb 75 off 39 balls laced with five boundaries and six incredible sixes.
Dhaka’s West Indian star signing D Bravo struck two quick blows as he bagged the scalps of Rajshahi’s Umar Akmal and Darren Sammy. Matt Coles came on to bowl for Dhaka while Rajshahi needing 9 runs from the last six deliveries. He captured the wicket of Abul Hasan in the first ball of the last over of the match. But Farhad Reza and Mehdi Hasan Miraj had other ideas as they struck crucial boundaries each to snatch away the victory from the jaws of defeat.
Bravo was the leading Dhaka bowler with 3 for 35 and Mohammad Shahid followed him with 2 for 29.
Earlier, magnificent knocks from Kumar Sangakkara and Seekkuge Prasanna’s cameo late in the innings inspired Dhaka Dynamites to 182 for 4 in 20 overs, after Dhaka Dynamites captain Shakib Al Hasan won the toss and decided to bat first.
Dhaka Dynamites got off to a brisk start thanks courtesy of openers Kumar Sangakkara and Mehedi Maruf. The first-wicket stand between Mehedi and Sanga of 71 runs in 8.4 overs made the Rajshahi bowlers perspired in the afternoon heat to set up a perfect platform for other batsmen to accelerate later.
Prasanna began the acceleration to pile up 34 runs from just 16 balls that included three over boundaries and two boundaries. The left handed Sri Lankan batsman Sanga held the innings together with his 66 runs. He played 46 balls, cracked five boundaries and 3 sixers in his innings.
Farhad Reza with two wickets 22 runs was the leading Rajshai bowlers.
Samit Patel was later adjudged as man of the match for his brilliant batting display.
