Rangpur beat Sylhet in lacklustre match
The first Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League fixture played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday, between Rangpur Rangers and Sylhet Thunder, was a low scoring encounter where dropped catches were the highlight.
Rangpur Rangers eventually won the match with seven wickets and 16 balls to spare but the low intensity was apparent on both sides, who are at the bottom of the points table.
This win, their second in seven matches, surely brought relief to Rangpur while Sylhet are virtually out of contention for the playoff phase with only one win in eight games.
In chase of the small 134-run target posted by Sylhet, Rangpur rode on the coattails of their South African batsman, Cameron Delport, who scored a blistering 50 to help the side register an easy win.
Rangpur did however being their chase badly, losing skipper Shane Watson for one through a brilliant Yorker from Ebadat Hossain. Rangpur did recover though with opener Mohammad Naim and Delport adding 99 runs for the second wicket.
The left-handed Delport played the role of aggressor, reaching his 50 off 24 balls before ultimately being dismissed on 63 runs off 28 balls, featuring five sixes and six fours.
Rangpur then lost another wicket cheaply when Lewis Gregory was sent back to the dressing room on just four. However, Naim remained not out on 38 runs off 50 balls, which included two fours and the same number of sixes, alongside Mohammad Nabi, who finished the job with an unbeaten 12-ball 18-run knock.
Earlier, Sylhet’s struggles continued after being sent to bat as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Apart from a 47-ball 62 from Mohammad Mithun, none of Sylhet’s other batsmen were able to make significant contributions as the side eventually posted 133 for nine from their allotted 20 overs.
Rangpur’s left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman bagged three wickets while giving away just ten runs from his four overs. More importantly though, the seamer looked to be in fine rhythm after a below par start to the tournament.
The-24 year-old has made a fine return to form with eight wickets in the last three games, including the one against Sylhet yesterday.
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