Riyad dazzles as Patriots make playoff spot
Mahmudullah Riyad's bat finally dazzled in the ongoing Caribbean Premier League (CPL) as he helped St Kitts and Nevis Patriots make the fourth and final playoff spot in a dramatic seven-wicket win over Jamaica Tallawahs via DLS method in a rain affected game.
Batting first, Jamaica posted a tremendous score of 206 for six, helped by Rovman Powell's blazing 40-ball 84-run knock that contained 11 fours and four sixes. Chris Gayle started the chase for Patriots in style and despite losing opener Evin Lewis for naught, Patriots were cruising at over 10 runs per over in the Powerplay thanks to Gayle and Rassie Van der Dussen when rain brought things to a halt. Patriots were 65/1 after 6.3 overs before rain interrupted the game and the target was shortened to 118 from 11 overs with Gayle's side needing a further 53 from 4.3 overs. Gayle fell three balls into the restart after a 24-ball 41 and then Adam Zampa removed Ben Cutting for naught in the next over.
That is when Mahmudullah entered the fray and played a 11-ball 28-run cameo. With 43 required from 18 deliveries, Mahmudullah and Dussen started their clever hitting. Dussen hit the first two deliveries of Oshane Thomas for six before giving the strike to Riyad. The Bangladesh all-rounder then hit three consecutive boundaries -- two fours, both glides behind point, before a magnificently struck six over mid-wicket, to bring the target down to 16 off 12 balls. In the second delivery of the next over, Mahmudullah took on Zampa, hitting an inside-out shot over extra over for six. He then hit the winning runs in the first delivery of the 11th over to finish off the proceedings. Dussen remained unbeaten on a 24-ball 45.
"Happy that I contributed to the team. I was trying to watch the ball and hit it. We would like to win another game and keep the momentum with ourselves," Mahmudullah said following the game as Patriots qualified for the CPL playoffs.
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