Shakib and batting woes stifle Rangpur

Khulna Tigers maintained their hundred percent record while Rangpur Riders slumped to their second defeat in three matches as the Bangladesh Premier League caravan moved to Sylhet.

The two matches on the public holiday saw a massive turnout of crowd at the Sylhet District Cricket Stadium, and the first match produced an upset, if it could be termed so, as much-fancied Rangpur Riders suffered a 28-run defeat against Khulna Tigers, which also broke the batting-second-and-winning-the-game sequence that had been set in Dhaka.

Like the previous matches, Rangpur Riders' batting did not click. Brandon King has not fired as either an opener or at number three in the three games, and same is the case for Rony Talukdar. Babar Azam secured victory from the grasp of defeat in the game against Sylhet Strikers after Rangpur had found themselves at 39 for six in chase of a small target in their previous game. However, yesterday, Shamim Hossain contributed 30 but the rest left too much to do for Mohammad Nabi, who hit a 30-ball 50 to make the 28-run defeat seem a little interesting.

The biggest worry for Rangpur, however, would be how Shakib Al Hasan can contribute without the bat.

Rangpur needed 85 off 41 deliveries when Shakib came in to the sound of the expectant crowd that was chanting his name. The crowd had to wait for quite some time to watch Shakib bat as he came in to bat at number eight. The eye problem has been an issue for him for a while and he had just recently returned from Singapore following an eye checkup. A conservative approach would be undertaken by the BCB medical team to help Shakib manage the condition troubling his retina.

Shakib had a change in his stance too, like the one he had at last year's World Cup game against the Netherlands. His stay lasted four deliveries as he nicked one off Dasun Shanaka, who bagged a four-for.

"Shakib wasn't here a for a while and as you know, he has an eye problem. In this situation, you can bowl but batting takes some preparation. Since he couldn't prepare, he batted lower down the order," Rangpur head coach Sohel Islam told reporters after the match.

"He didn't talk about problem. Rather he was pondering how he can undergo extra preparation tomorrow and recover to get into a good shape.

"So far what has been discussed is that he needs to be given time [to recover]. After a few sessions, things will go back to normal and he needs to be given that time," Sohel added regarding Shakib.

Stress or not, Shakib did not look comfortable with the bat. How long the eye will take to recover is still uncertain. For Rangpur, the problems are thus two-fold, Shakib and their batting.

"We weren't able to play as the kind of batting unit we are. Since we didn't bat well in the first two matches as well, batters were psychologically in the backfoot a little," he said.

Given their Powerplay effort, Rangpur need someone to do the job in Shakib's stead as he will need time to contribute as an all-rounder, having bowled four economical overs yesterday during the opening game of the Sylhet phase.