Rangpur ride out Sabbir storm
Shamsur Rahman drives the ball through the covers on way to scoring a fluent 66, his second consecutive half century, for Rangpur Riders against Barisal Burners in a BPL match in Khulna yesterday. Rangpur won by 7 runs. Photo: STAR
A quickfire half-century from Shamsur Rahman helped Rangpur Riders clinch their second consecutive win when they beat Barisal Burners in a closely contested Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) T20 match by seven runs at the Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium in Khulna yesterday.
With 48 runs needed off the last three overs to reach the 175-run target and with five wickets in hand, Barisal made a good fist of it mainly through a blistering 35-ball 69 from Sabbir Rahman. The 18th over by Riders captain Abdur Razzak produced ten courtesy of a six from Sabbir's bat but also two wickets in two balls, and the 19th over by Fidel Edwards -- which contained a wide delivery that went for four -- yielded 12.
Sabbir then had the mountainous task of scoring 26 off the last over against Razzak and managed 12 off the first three but was eventually dismissed off the fourth when Shamsur pulled off a brilliant diving catch at long on. Elias Sunny's six off the last ball merely reduced the victory margin.
Burners were in early trouble in the chase as Edwards dismissed Phil Mustard in the first over and Dimitri Mascarenhas accounted for Joe Denly in the fourth. Skipper Brad Hodge and Alok Kapali restored parity in the fifth over, hitting two fours and a six off Kevin O' Brien, but Razzak bowled Kapali in the next over before Amit Kumar had the dangerous Azhar Mahmood stumped in the ninth over. That brought Sabbir to the crease at 48 for four, and together with Hodge he added 559 runs in 5.5 overs before Hodge was caught off O' Brien for a 38-ball 58. Sabbir hit four boundaries and five sixes in his innings, but in the end Rangpur's superior discipline on the field won the day.
Earlier, Shamsur Rahman followed his 52 in the previous match with an entertaining 66. His opening stand with Imrul Kayes yielded 70 in the first eight overs and set the foundation for the team's highest score this season.
Shamsur smacked nine fours and two sixes in the 40 balls that he faced. The innings was an exhibition of the wide array of shot-making ability that the batsman possessed. The 12th over by Shafiul saw the batsman scoop the first ball behind the keeper, drive the next one through cover and pull the next one behind the bowler's head for three consecutive boundaries.
A string of boundaries from Niall O'Brien and Cameron Borgas helped Rangpur blast 58 off the last six overs and cross the 170-mark.
SCORES IN BRIEF
RANGPUR RIDERS: 174 for four (Shamsur 66, Kayes 29, N O' Brien 27; Sunny 2-21, Kapali 1-34).
BARISAL BURNERS: 167 for 8 (Sabbir 69, Hodge 58; Razzak 4-33, Mascarenhas 1-24, Edwards 1-25).
Result: Rangpur Riders won by 7 runs.
Man-of-the-match: Shamsur Rahman
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