Rangpur wilt after Shanaka blitz
Skipper Dashun Shanaka led from the front as Cumilla Warriors started their Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League campaign on a roaring high with a thumping 105-run win over Rangpur Rangers in the second game of the opening day at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.
Chasing a challenging target of 174 posted by Cumilla courtesy of Shanaka’s blistering unbeaten 75, Rangpur surrendered meekly and were bundled out for just 68, with Zakir Hasan unable to bat after he got injured while fielding.
Rangpur kept losing wickets at regular intervals and that opener Naim Sheikh’s 17 was the highest score with only three batsmen able to reach double figures summed up the entire batting scenario in a one-sided affair.
On the other hand, it was a collective bowling display from Cumilla as pacer Al-Amin Hossain picked up three wickets while medium pacer Soumya Sarkar and left-arm spinner Sunzamul Islam bagged two wickets each.
Earlier, despite a poor start from Cumilla, it was raining sixes from skipper Shanaka in the latter stage of the innings, which helped them to post a formidable 173 for seven in 20 overs.
Electing to bat first, Cumilla were at one point struggling on 89 for six inside 14 overs before Shanaka took on the Rangpur bowlers. He struck nine sixes and three fours and remained unbeaten on a 31-ball 75.
Cumilla managed to add 65 runs in the last three overs of the innings, which included the most expensive one in the 19th over from Mustafizur Rahman, during which the left-arm seamer conceded 26 runs.
Mustafizur, who started off confidently and gave away just 12 runs from his first three overs and also picked up the wickets of Soumya Sarkar (26) and Sabbir Rahman (19), lost his way in his fourth and final over.
Shanaka, who had struck two sixes in the previous over off Lewis Gregory, went on to hammer four consecutive sixes off Mustafizur, including one that came off a free hit. The longest of those sixes went outside the stadium over the deep mid-wicket region as Mustafizur eventually ended up with figures of two for 37.
Shanaka, who had led the Sri Lankan T20I side in Pakistan last month, reached his fifty off just 23 balls and finished off in style by smashing 23 runs in the final over from Junaid Khan, which included three sixes and a four.
The Pakistani left-arm pacer was the most expensive bowler for Rangpur and remained wicketless after conceding 47 runs off four overs.
Apart from Mustafizur, off-spinner Sanjit Saha and Gregory also picked up two wickets each for Rangpur.
SCORES IN BRIEF
CUMILLA WARRIORS: 173 for 7 in 20 overs (Soumya 26, Malan 25, Sabbir 19, Shanaka 75 not out; Sanjit 2-26, Mustafizur 2-37, Gregory 2-25)
RANGPUR RANGERS: 68 all out in 14 overs (Shahzad 13, Naim 17, Nabi 11; Al-Amin 3-14, Soumya 2-12, Sunzamul 2-4)
Result: Cumilla Warriors won by 105 runs.
Player-of-the-match: Dasun Shanaka.
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