Dhaka down Rangpur

Dhaka Dynamites's 78-run win against the Rangpur Riders at Mirpur yesterday night defied two ongoing trends in the Bangladesh Premier League.

The first is that teams batting second in the night game can win and secondly, it is possible to post high totals on the slow wickets that the tournament is currently being played on.

These are crucial points since yesterday was the first time that a team batting first in a night game managed to win. Dhaka also posted the highest total of the competition yesterday. Prior to yesterday's match the average first innings score in the night game this season was 115.

After losing the toss, Dhaka's plan was clear. While they wanted Kumar Sangakkara to stick around, they wanted Mehedi Maruf and anyone partnering Sangakkara to go for runs.

And that is what Mehedi did when he smacked Shoha Gazi for a six and a four in the first over. Unfortunately he was caught off the next ball, but his replacement, Nasir Hossain, continued the onslaught. He hit 38 off 33 balls with six fours and the duo put on 69 runs in 9.3 overs.

It was a good foundation but Dhaka lost three quick wickets between overs number 10 and 12 and from 79 for 1 they suddenly slumped to 81 for 4. They needed a new hero and that came in the form of Mosaddek Hossain.

His unbeaten 48 off 28 balls, which included seven fours and two sixes, was what changed the game. You know Mosaddek is in great touch when he plays the cut through the offside with precision. He began by cutting a quicker one from Shahid Afridi through the third man region in the 13th over and did the same to Arafat Sunny and Rubel Hossain. He smacked Dawson for eleven runs, a six and a four, in the 17th and Afridi for two fours in the 18th to help the Dynamites move into a powerful position. A few lusty hits towards the end helped them reach the 170-mark.

The pressure was on Rangpur right from the start after the exchange and their top order crumbled against Dhaka's spin.

While Nasir dismissed his national rival Soumya Sarkar in the second over, Shakib Al Hasan removed Mohammad Mithun with a low straight deliver in the third.

Danger man Mohammad Shahzad was caught at mid off by Nasir in the sixth over, while Shahid Afridi was dismissed by Shakib in the 14th. After 15 overs Rangpur were struggling at 74 for 6 and required 97 from 30 balls.