Rangpur pip Comilla by 21 runs

Comilla’s winning streak was broken by Rangpur when the high-flying Riders defeated the Victorians by 21 runs under the lights at Mirpur.

Rangpur Riders were rattled early after Imrul’s cameo, but kept taking wickets at regular intervals to stem Comilla’s surge towards their target.

Thisara Perera took three for 18 in 2.5 overs. Both Saqlain Sajib and Mhammad Nabi captured two wickets each.

For Comilla, their opener Imrul Kayes was the highest scorer. After he fell, Victorians’ wickets fell like nine pins.

Dhiman Ghosh and Kamrul Islam fell to Thisara Perera in the last over, as the Sri Lankan was immaculate with his line and length. Perera even bowled a wicket-maiden over late in the innings.

Shoaib Malik found it extremely difficult to score quickly with the odd ball stopping on the batsmen. He made 15 from 24 balls.

Comilla captain Mashrafe was dismissed in the 17th over by Saqlain to hammer the final nail into Victorians’ coffin.

Andre Russell tried to hit some big shots but fell in the process. He was caught by Perera at long-on after Shakib deceived the batter with a slower ball.

After being hammered for a six, Arafat Sunny came back in the best possible manner when he clean bowled Shuvagata Hom for 12 in the 13th over.

Shuvagata tried another slog-sweep but played one shot many. His departure gave Rangpur Riders the edge going into the backend of this match.

The match turned on its head after Comilla experienced a mini-collapse after a blistering start to their chase.

From 48 for no loss, Comilla crumpled to 63 for four, and gave their opponent the upper hand.

Mohammad Nabi captured two wickets in the ninth over to send Comilla reeling. First he sent back Ahmed Shehzad for 10 and then dismissed Ashar Zaidi three balls later.

Both Shehzad and Zaidi tried to smash the Afghan bowler but failed miserably in their attempt.

Mahmudul Hasan was trapped in front by the wily Saqlain Sajib of Rangpur. The ball was too full to play the sweep, Mahmudul missed and the umpire raised his finger. The Comilla batsman scored eight runs.

Darren Sammy got the important wicket of Imrul Kayes, after the Comilla opener threatened to run away with the match.

Imrul top-edge flew to third man where Arafat Sunny held on to a simple catch. Victorians batter raced to 38 runs from only 24 balls with six fours and a six to his name.

Imrul Kayes came out to bat like a man possessed and smashed Rangpur bowlers to all parts of Mirpur stadium.

Comilla raced to 45 in only four overs thanks to their opener’s approach and to some shoddy bowling from Riders early.

Earlier, Jahurul Islam took his side Rangpur Riders to a commanding total of 153 for 6 by his undefeated knock of 62 from 50 balls.

The Rangpur batter smashed seven fours and two sixes and provided the fireworks late in the innings with Darren Sammy and Mohammad Nabi using the long handle effectively.

Sammy smashed 24 and Nabi 12 to unsettle the Comilla bolwers during the death overs.

For Comilla, Abu Hider Rony took two wickets for 28 in four overs. Shoaib Malik, Ashar Zaidi and Andre Russell captured a wicket each.

Mohammad Nabi was the sixth batsman down for Rangpur when he perished in the last over to Abu Hider.

Andre Russell got his fellow countryman Darren Sammy in the 18th over when his short ball was too good for the Rangpur batter.

Sammy tried to pull but got no power into his shot, and Shoaib completed the formalities at mid-wicket.

Rangpur’s Sri Lankan allrounder went cheaply and soon after Shakib was dismissed. Shoaib Malik removed the power-hitter for five to put his team in the driver’s seat.

Just when the Shakib-Jahurul stand looked like taking the game away from Comilla, Kamrul Islam Rabbi struck in the 12th over to send back Shakib Al Hasan.

Shakib looked like he had the measure of the wicket, but found the lone fielder at deep mid-wicket when he struck a forceful shot that had six written all over it. Rangpur skipper scored 20 from 15 balls with two boundaries.

Ashar Zaidi of Comilla struck in the seventh to end a promising stand of 33 between Lendl Simmons and Jahurul Islam.

Simmons was dismissed to the arm ball, and Zaidi trapped him in front for 13 runs.

Rangpur were rocked early when they lost opener Soumya Sarkar in the second over to the high-flying Abu Hider Rony.

Soumya scored five before he was caught at cover.

Comilla Victorians skipper called it correctly when the coin was tossed and decided to bowl first and invited Rangpur Riders to set up a total in this encounter under the lights at Mirpur.

This game can be coined as the Clash of the Titans, as the top-two teams in this year’s BPL are locking horns today

Comilla are on a three-game winning streak, and their captain would love to continue the momentum of smashing wins against Barisal, Chittagong and Dhaka.

Rangpur have two wins on the trot against Sylhet and Dhaka respectively, and their skipper would want another stellar performance from his players in this match as well.

Comilla Victorians

Imrul Kayes, Ahmed Shehzad, Shoaib Malik, Ashar Zaidi, Shuvagata Hom, Mashrafe Mortaza (Captain), Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Abu Hider, Mahmudul Hasan, Alok Kapali, K Santokie, Ariful Haque, Naeem Islam jnr, Mukhtar Ahmed, KMDN Kulasekara, DI Stevens, Liton Das (Wicketkkeper), Sunzamul Islam

Rangpur Riders

LMP Simmons, Soumya Sarkar, Jahurul Islam, Shakib Al Hasan (Captain), DJG Sammy, NLTC Perera, Mohammad Nabi, Abu Jayed, Mohammad Mithun (Wicketkeeper), Arafat Sunny, Saqlain Sajib, Muktar Ali, SMSM Senanayake, Misbah-ul-Haq, Murad Khan, Wahab Riaz, Abdullah Al Mamun, Al-Amin