Rangpur romp to victory

Rangpur skipper Shakib Al Hasan and Jahurul Islam took their team to a comprehensive victory by eight wickets over the hapless Sylhet Super Stars tonight at Mirpur.

Shakib was unbeaten on 29 from 24 balls. He smashed four boundaries in his knock. Jahurul was not out on nine.

Soumya Sarkar was dismissed for 11 and Lendl Simmons for five by Muhammad Shahid, but the result was never in doubt after the batting debacle earlier by the Super Stars.

Shahid of Sylhet was the most impressive bowler for his team today. He bowled his heart out and took two wickets for 18 runs in four pacy overs.

 Two wickets from red-hot Mohammad Shahid of Sylhet stalled Rangpur’s progress to the paltry target of 60.

Rangpur lost their second wicket in the sixth over when Soumya Sarkar heaved a short ball from Shahid straight down the throat of Munaweera at deep square-leg.

Soumya didn’t look comfortable at the crease, faced 14 balls for his 11 runs.

Sylhet’s opening bowler Shahid gave his side the first breakthrough in the second over. Lendl Simmons was caught behind for five.

Simmons came down the track, tried to cut but only managed to get a thick outside edge to the keeper.

Earlier, Sylhet lost their last batsmen with only 59 runs on the board when Mohammad Nabi caught and bowled Rubel Hossain to top off a fantastic effort from his teammates under the lights at Mirpur.

Rangpur Riders restricted Sylhet Super Stars to the second lowest score of BPL with wickets at regular intervals.

Arafat Sunny took four, Mohammad Nabi three and Shakib AL Hasan two two wickets to dominate proceedings under the lights.

To say Sylhet’s batting card looks like a telephone number would be an understatement. 0, 5, 8, 9, 5, 4, 0, 4, 0 and 0. Sohail’s 20 sticks out like a thorn in this wretched batting scorecard.

Rangpur’s Afghan recruit Nabi struck again in the 12th over and saw Sohail Tanvir of Sylhet fall to a soft dismissal.

Sohail scored 20 from 17 balls before he was sent back to the pavilion.

Mohammad Nabi of Rangpur picked up his first wicket of the game when he struck in the tenth over to hint an early shower for the players tonight.

Abdur Razzak of Sylhet slogged the delivery from Nabi straight to Jahurul at deep midwicket.

Thisara Perera piled more misery on the listless Super Stars when he sent back Ravi Bopara in the ninth over to reduce Sylhet to 38 for the loss of seven wickets.

Sylhet by now were all at sea and probably prayed for the nightmare to end as quickly as possible.

Arafat picked up his fourth wicket of the night when Nazmul Hossain Milon was bowled for naught. Milon tried to slog a good length ball but was beaten all ends up.

The Rangpur spinner finished his four-over spell with four wickets for only 14 runs.

Shakib Al Hasan pushed the dagger deeper into Sylhet heart with a two-wicket burst in the sixth over of the match.

Two balls later Shakib removed the dangerous but unpredictable Shahid Afridi. Afridi charged down the wicket, missed the ball and Mithun completed a simple stumping.

First he sent back Nurul Hasan for eight when the batsman lofted his shot straight to Soumya at mid-off.

Sylhet Super Stars were rocked early by Rangpur Riders’ Arafat Sunny when the left-arm spinner took three wickets to put his team on top.

Sylhet’s dependable batsman Mushfiqur Rahim didn’t last long, played an uncharacteristic reverse sweep and got a top edge to point. Arafat got his third wicket with Mushy’s dismissal, and was over the moon!

The third over saw Sylhet’s Junaid Siddique try to dominate Sunny but lost his wicket in the process. Junaid was caught and bowled for five runs.

Arafat gave Rangpur the perfect start when he struck with his fifth ball to remove Sylhet opener Dilshan Munaweera. The Sri Lankan player was clean bowled for a five-ball duck.

Rangpur Riders captain Shakib Al Hasan invited Sylhet Super Stars to bat first after he won the toss in this crucial encounter for both teams today.

Rangpur are sitting pretty in the second position of the points-table with five wins out of eight matches, and their captain would want to keep the momentum of recent wins going in this match as well.

Shakib’s bat may have been quiet in this year’s BPL, but his bowling form is fine at the moment. Rangpur skipper leads the all-time wicket-takers list in BPL with 44 victims in 30 matches.

Rangpur won their last match against Dhaka quite easily on December 6, and their bowling unit has been incredibly effective on the slow, low pitch at Mirpur.

Sylhet Super Stars began to turn the tide of their disastrous campaign with a comprehensive win over Barisal in their last game on December 6, but they need to win every game from now to have a shot at qualifying for the knock-out stage.

With Shahid Afridi at the helm, and helped by Mushfiqur Rahim and Ravi Bopara on the field, Sylhet look a spirited side and may just go all the way.

Sylhet Super Stars

Abdur Razzak, RS Bopara, Hammad Azam, DSNFG Jayasuriya, Junaid Siddique, Mohammad Shahid, Mominul Haque, EMDY Munaweera, Mushfiqur Rahim (Wicketkeeper), Nazmul Hossain Milon, Nazmul Islam, Nurul Hasan, Rubel Hossain, OA Shah, Shahid Afridi (Captain), Sohail Tanvir and Subashis Roy

Rangpur Riders

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

Rangpur players celebrate a fall of wicket during BPL-2015. File Photo: STAR