Barisal stun Rangpur by 13 runs

Barisal Bulls caused an upset today when they came out in front by 13 runs against a strong Rangpur side in the 4th game of BPL-2015.

With only 155 to defend, Barisal’s bowlers stuck to their task and were well supported by the fielders as Rangpur lost wickets at crucial moments of the match.

With wickets falling at the other end, Mohammad Mithun of Rangpur nearly took his team home with his knock of 55 from 32 balls.

He smashed five fours and two sixes but was dismissed in the 19th over with 20 runs far from victory.

Several Rangpur batters got their starts, but were unable to convert into something substantial. Simmons scored 19, Soumya 17, Misbah 19 and Perera 17.

For Barisal, Kevin Cooper was the star performer with the ball, and snuffed out Rangpur’s chances with five wickets for 15 runs in four overs. He was adjudged player-of-the-match for his incredible performance.

Barisal Bulls fought back by taking wickets to stall Rangpur Riders’ surge towards the target of 156.

Soon after Simmons left the field, Cooper got the big fish when Misbah got a thin edge to Brendan Taylor behind the stumps. Cooper delivered a ball touch ahead of the length area outside off, Misbah nibbled and saw Taylor complete an easy catch to trigger wild celebrations in the Barisal camp.

Misbah-ul-Haq scored 19 from 22 balls with a single boundary to his name.

Lendl Simmons tried to accelerate but found the going quite tough. He scored 19 from 21 with three hits across the fence.

Shakib Al Hasan couldn’t time the ball as well as he liked, played 12 balls, managed only six runs before he was sent back to the pavilion by Kevin Cooper.

Soumya Sarkar began with a flurry of boundaries but was caught behind to Sami for 17 from seven balls.

Earlier, Barisal Bulls managed to reach 155 for the loss of nine wickets against Rangpur Riders in their opening game of BPL-2015.

After a torrid start losing four wickets for only 15 runs on the board, Barisal innings was put back on track by their captain Mahmudullah and Nadif Chowdhury with some intelligent batting.

Mahmudullah struck a well-made 51 from 43 balls with five fours and a massive six. Nadif supported him with 30 runs from 31 balls. Their stand of 82 runs rescued Barisal from an embarrassingly hopeless situation.

Barisal got the boost in the death overs by some big hitting from Cooper, Prasana and Sami. They contributed immensely to put up a challenging total to defend against Rangpur.

Shakib Al Hasan and Thisara Perera were the most successful bowlers for Rangpur. Both of them collected three wickets in their quota of four overs.

Rangpur opening bowler Thisara Perera blew away Barisal’s top-order with a three-wicket burst to give his team the upper hand early in the match.

Rony Talukdar was the first Barisal batter to perish, brilliantly caught behind by Mithun. Shahriar Nafees was leg-before-wicket for one.

Shakib had Brendan Taylor caught behind and then in the next over Sabbir Rahman was sent back for 11 runs by the Sri Lankan all-rounder Perera.

Rangpur Riders captain Shakib Al Hasan won the toss and opted to field first against Barisal Bulls in the 4th game of BPL-2015 at Mirpur stadium.

This is the opening game for Barisal led by Mahmudullah Riyad.

Until Chris Gayle arrives in early December after recovering from injury, the Barisal Bulls have to make sure they get the best out of the rest of their squad.

The likes of Brendan Taylor, Sabbir Rahman, Mahmudullah and Al-Amin Hossain will have to carry the team forward.

Although Rangpur won their first game, their fans would want them to win convincingly with such players like Soumya, Shakib, Misbah, Perera and Simmons in the team.

Rangpur’s bowling upfront in their first game was not satisfactory, and their captain would want his bowlers to pull up their socks for this encounter.

Rangpur Riders Team

Shakib Al Hasan (Captain), Soumya Sarkar, DJG Sammy, LMP Simmons, NLTC Perera, Mohammad Mithun (Wicketkeeper), Misbah-ul-Haq, Al-Amin, Muktar Ali, Saqlain Sajib, Abu Jayed, Arafat Sunny, Murad Khan, Jahurul Islam, SMSM Senanayake, Mohammad Nabi, Abdullah Al Mamun and Wahab Riaz

Barisal Bulls Team

Sabbir Rahman, Mahmudullah (Wicketkeeper), Al-Amin Hossain, Nadif Chowdhury, Shahriar Nafees, Imad Wasim, E Lewis, Mehedi Maruf, Mohammad Sami, N Dutta, S Prasanna, Rony Talukdar (Wicketkeeper), KK Cooper, Sajedul Islam, CH Gayle, Sharifullah, Taijul Islam and BRM Taylor