Warner, Liton thrash Rangpur to end Sylhet’s losing-streak
Photo - BCB
|| CF Correspondent ||
An entertaining batting from skipper David Warner and opener Liton Das, much to the delight of local crowd, helped Sylhet Sixers back on winning-track as they thrashed Rangpur Riders by 27 runs at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.
Warner reinvigorated his killer form, shellacking a 36 ball-61 not out while Liton Das hit his career best 70 as Sylhet Sixers complied 187 for five. Star-studded Rangpur Riders threatened to pull off the heist through Rilee Rossouw but some smart bowling of Sylhet bowlers in the middle overs helped the side finally hold the reigning champions back to 160 for six.
As a win was imperative to stay alive in the tournament after losing three matches in a row, Sylhet Sixers unleashed a new opening pair in Liton Das and Sabbir Rahman and the ploy proved to be successful.
Liton got his Midas touch that was absent in the last four matches while Sabbir, though was not his usual aggressive mood, took the pressure off from Liton by finding singles at regular basis.
By their contrasting approach, they laid a solid platform for the side, combining for a 73-run partnership, which was broken when Benny Howell delivered a perfect knuckle ball to get the better of Sabbir.
Before being dismissed, Sabbir hit one four and six in his run-a-ball-20.
Skipper David Warner who came to bat in No. 3 position kept the flow by taking the Rangpur bowlers in sheer disdain. At the other end, Liton seemed to have inscribed his name as the first centurion of this season’s BPL.
But that was not to be as he was run out after trying to steal second runs. His 43 ball-70 was studded with nine fours and one six.
However Warner and inform Nicholas Pooran kept the side on course of the season’s first 200 plus score but paceman Shaiful Islam took three wickets including two in the last over to dent the hope.
As Warner and Pooran were in full flow to cut through the bowling in the last powerplay, Shafiul’s sly off cutter rattled the stump of Pooran after he hammered 26 off 16 with three fours and one six.
After the dismissal of Pooran, Chris Gayle created pressure with some dot balls in the penultimate over but such was Warner’s passion for big hit at the fag end of his BPL tournament that he switched to right hand to deal with Gayle’s off-spin and it paid dividends as he hit him six and two fours in three balls in a row.
Though it was not immediately confirmed, Warner may fly back to Australia after the completion of Sylhet phase of BPL as his old elbow is believed to flared up.
Shafiul’s smart bowling in the last kept SIxers 13 runs short of 200. Warner by then smote six fours and two sixes in his second half-century century in the tournament.
Sylhet Sixers needed early wickets to defend even such sort of big total as the excessive dew gradually making the task tougher for the bowler. They got that kind of start from paceman Mehedi Hasan Rana who in the second over the innings dealt a double blow, claiming the wicket of Mehehi Maruf (7) and Alxe Hales (0), who missed last four matches for some unknown reasons.
Sohail Tanvir then got the big scalp of Chris Gayle for (7), leaving Rangpur at precarious 11 for three.
Rilee Rossouw and Mohammad Mithun shared 89 off 55 balls to revive the chase and kept the side on course until a fast delivery from Taskin that kept low uprooted the stump of Rossuow who smacked 58 off 31, clobbering three fours and four sixes.
After a while, Taskin got another set batsman Mohammad Mithun for 35 to derail Rangpur’s chase and they never recovered from that despite Sixers fielders shelled some easy chances.
