Rajshahi produces upset, blowing Dhaka away in BBPL
Photo - BCB , Roton Gomes
|| CF Correspondent ||
Rajshahi Royals put up a compact performance to produce a massive upset as they crushed pre-tournament favourite Dhaka Platoon by nine wickets in their first game in the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BBPL) on Thursday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
With several reputed power-hitters and two A+ category players in their kitty, Dhaka Platoon looked to be a daunting opponent to overcome but Rajshahi produced a performance worthy to bring them down in a ruthless manner.
Being sent to bat first, Dhaka Platoon were restricted to 134-9, a mediocre score that Rajshahi made a mockery to overhaul. They finally reached winning target 136-1 with 10 balls to spare.
Opener Hazratullah Zazai led the charge in victory in impeccable fashion, striking a well-composed 56 not out off 47, hitting five fours and three sixes. He also ensured the team’s victory with a power-full cover-drive for a boundary.
Another opener Liton Das smacked 39 off 27, clobbering four fours and two sixes and combined for a 62-run in just 8.2 overs with Zazai.
The opening partnership kept Rajshahi in a good position even though Dhaka sensed an opportunity after Mahedi Hasan dismissed Liton.
Any kind of hope of Dhaka, however, was shattered by Shoaib Mailk as the Pakistan recruit further shared a 74-run with Zazai in an undefeated second wicket stand.
Malik scored run-a-ball-36 with three fours and one six.
Returning to competitive cricket since his disappointing World Cup mission, Dhaka captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza ended another bad day in office as he failed to grab any wicket and conceded 18 runs in three overs.
Mashrafe batted well than established batsmen comparatively. His 10 ball-18 runs not out with two sixes indeed took Dhaka Platoon past 120 when it looked they would end up making fewer runs that they made eventually.
Rajshahi bowlers stifled Dhaka platoon for runs in a slow wicket once they put them in batting. The Dhaka batsman also contributed to digging their own graveyards by batting mindlessly.
Abu Jayed struck first to dismiss Tamim Iqbal for 5 as the opener returned to competitive cricket from a long hiatus. Farhad Reza then took out Lurie Evans for 14 to further jolt Dhaka before Anamul Haque Bijoy and Jaker Ali Anik shared 40-run and gave the side a hope to make a healthy score.
But some electrifying fielding effort saw Anik’s run-out dismissal for 21 and triggered a collapse from which they couldn’t recover.
Even the big hitters like Thisara Perera and Shahid Afrid were strangled for runs and ended up scoring just 1 and 0 respectively, much to the disappointment of Dhaka fans.
Anamul’s 38 was the highest score for Dhaka. Abu Jayed Rahi claimed 2-43 for Rajshahi while Farhad Reza, Taijul Islam, Alok Kapali and Ravi Bopara grabbed one wicket apiece.
