World’s leading all-rounder Shakib al Hasan’s magic did the trick for Rangpur Riders as they comprehensively beat Dhaka Dynamites by 69 runs to pick up their second win in three matches in the Bangladesh Premier League yesterday.
Keeping in-form cricketers Misbah ul Haq and Saqlain Sajib out of the playing XI raised quite a few eyebrows but Shakib’s input with both bat and ball sealed Riders’ easy win at the end.
After helping his side to a challenging 176 with an unbeaten 30, Shakib took four for 16 to demolish the Dhaka batting backbone as they were bowled out for 107 with two balls left in their 20 overs.
Rangpur’s strategy was simple – get runs on the scorecard and put the slow bowlers in operation – yet worked wonders. Shakib, who opened the bowling with Sri Lankan off-spinner Sachithra Senanayake from the other end, cleaned up Shamsur Rahman and Nasir Jamshed in the space of three balls in the third over as Dhaka never recovered from the double blow.
Dhaka’s batting deficiency was exposed as apart from Kumar Sangakkara (29) no one looked formidable at the middle and their hopes diminished as soon as the Lankan maestro was caught at mid-wicket off Arafat Sunny’s bowling. The blow, Sunny’s second, left Dhaka tottering at 53 for four in 11 overs.
Thisara Pepera cashed in on the opportunity after Shakib introduced the pacer in the 12th over. The right-arm seamer dismissed Ryan ten Doeschate in his third ball and further added to Dhaka’s woes by removing Abul Hasan and Yasir Shah in his following overs.
In between the Pepera assault, Shakib added Nasir Hossain and Farhad Reza to his wickets tally as he finished off his four overs giving away just 16 runs.
Shakib said toss is becoming vital as the tournament progresses. The curators are not getting enough time to prepare the wicket in full so it has started helping the spinners.
“Batting first in the first game is ideal. The wickets are wearing so the ball gets low and tends to spin as the day ends. I believe our team is in good momentum at the moment given everyone is trying their best to do their respective jobs. I hope this will continue in the remaining matches,” said Shakib.
Earlier, Rangpur had all the elements to reach a big total but a late collapse in their batting order almost paved the way back in the game for Dhaka. Soumya Sarkar (18) and Lendl Simmons (51) produced a rapid 38-run start while Mohammad Mithun (34) and Perera (27) also contributed vital runs.
From 122 for 2 in the 14th over, Rangpur were reduced to 150 for six before the last two overs with Darren Sammy, Thisara and Al-Amin back in the hut. Batting at No 6, Shakib struck three boundaries in the last two overs to propel the score.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
