Rossouw, Bopara lift Riders
The sixth edition of the Bangladesh Premier League is yet to see a local player grab the spotlight after two overseas players -- Chittagong Vikings' Robbie Frylink and Dhaka Dynamites' opener Hazratullah Zazai -- made headlines on the opening day; and it was the same story on the second day of the tournament.
After Shahid Afridi's player of the match performance had ensured a victory for Comilla Victorians in the first game of the day, Rangpur Riders secured an eight-run victory over Khulna Titans under the lights, riding on a brilliant 52-ball 76-run knock from South African opener Rilee Rossouw at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.
Defending champions Rangpur managed to secure their first win of the tournament despite being unable to start with star opener Chris Gayle as the West Indian received his No Objection Certificate (NOC) after the side already took to the field yesterday.
After being sent in to bat, Rangpur started shakily as they lost opener Mehedi Maruf in the fourth over but managed to post a challenging 169 for three, courtesy of a brilliant knock from Rossouw laced with eight boundaries and two sixes. It looked like Rangpur were in a spot of bother after losing three of their top-order batsmen within the first ten overs but an unbeaten 104-run fourth-wicket partnership between Rossouw and Ravi Bopara ensured a fine finish.
"It's not easy to bat on this type of pitch but I tried to bat till the end which helped me, and today was my day" said Rossouw at the post-match press conference.
Coming in to chase, the stage was set for Khulna to ensure victory as their openers -- Irishman Paul Stirling and left-hander Junaid Siddique -- strung a 90-run partnership before the latter was dismissed on 33 runs. Stirling top-scored for the side with 61 runs but to his woe, Khulna fell short.
Khulna skipper Mahmudullah Riyad identified their shortcomings while speaking during the post-match briefing.
"It was a good wicket and the bowlers really bowled well but I am very disappointed with today's fielding. If we can improve in this department, we can do well," Mahmudullah said. "Our batsmen struggled in previous two year as our openers could not give us a good start. This time our openers gave us a good start but our middle order failed"
It seems like the BPL, which is a marvellous platform for local players to make a strong statement has been dominated by foreign players till now and the spectators will have to wait a day more at least to see any local shine as the tournament resumes tomorrow after today's rest day.
Comments