|| CF Correspondent ||

Alex Hales and Rilee Rossouw scored a brilliant century to bring down Chittagong Vikings down to earth as Rangpur Riders defeated the home side by 72 runs in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium on Friday,

There was no fire work from Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers but it hardly mattered as Hales(100) and Rossouw(100 not out) enthralled the crowd with their blazing stroke play that helped them post the highest BPL total- 239-4 and later Vikings were reduced to 167-8 to earn  the important win and made sure  the defending champions began the Chittagong phase on the perfect note.

Hales, who remained a mere shadow of his former self until the last match that indicated he is returning back to form with his first half-century in the tournament, blazed away the Vikings bowling attack  with his destructive batting display.

Vikings made a bright start by reducing their opponent to 6-1 by  picking opener Chris Gayle for only two runs but it remained their only success as Hales along with Rossouw took the game away from their grasp by adding 174 runs for the second wicket in just 78 balls.

Hales took up the responsibility of making sure they kept their onslaught on the opponent bowlers from the beginning when Rossouw played second fiddle to him while after he departed Rossouw made sure they kept the scoring momentum intact throughout the 20 overs that stunned the near full home crowd and that too despite losing AB de Villiers cheaply as he could add just one run after he joined the party through the departure of Hales.

 Hales scored 100 runs from 48 balls with 11 fours and five sixes while Rossouw remained unbeaten on 100 runs decorated with eight fours and six huge sixes that not only marked hundred by two cricketers in a single inning in BPL but also helped them take a sweet revenge over their opponent.

It looked Riders were on the mood of settling some scores with Vikings as they were humiliated in the BPL opener when Vikings bundled them for a paltry 98 runs and earned a three wicket win.

Riders can claim themselves lucky as Robbie Frylinck, who picked four wickets during that win, could not make a similar impact as he could not bowl after picking up an injury that forced him to leave the field after completing only two overs.   

In reply, Vikings tried to change their fortune by bringing in Yasir Ali at the top in the order, who fought a lone battle making highest 78 runs as he saw wickets fall at regular intervals chasing down the mammoth total that enforced them to taste defeat after five successive loss.