Babar's prowess coming through in BPL 

Babar Azam continued to shine bright in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) as the stylish batter struck his second fifty in three matches to help his side, the Rangpur Riders, register their second win of the tournament by beating Durdanto Dhaka by 79 runs at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Saturday. 

Courtesy of Babar's 46-ball 62-run knock that featured five fours and a six, Rangpur posted 183 for eight. The former Pakistan skipper yet again held the innings together for his side as wickets fell frequently at the other end.

It was a mix of caution and aggression from the 29-year-old batting maestro who scored a match-winning unbeaten 49-ball 56-run knock in his very first game.

Dhaka pacer Shoriful Islam who was on the receiving end of Babar's exploits acknowledged his mastery and said that oppositions would need different game plans to see the back of the classy batter.

"When we bowl to Babar, our main thinking is not to give him the width. He is not the type of batter who would come hard at the bowlers. Normally, he punishes the bad deliveries and very often he charges at the good deliveries," Shoriful told the media after the match. "He takes the game, right till the end. Our plan is to stick to our basics since he respects those deliveries. Once the game goes deep, we change our mindset." 

Babar remained instrumental in both the games Rangpur has won so far. His watchful 56 in the first game when Rangpur were reduced to 39 for six in seven overs while chasing 121.

Shoriful admitted that it was Babar's knock that gave Rangpur's innings the uplift they needed. Dhaka, however, had themselves to blame as they gave the Babar a reprieve when Alauddin Babu dropped the right-handed batter at square-leg while he was batting on 31 off the bowling of Shoriful in the 11th over. 

"Definitely Babar played really well but if we could have taken his wicket early, maybe things would have been different as the remaining batters might have not batted with such patience later on. I think he took the game deep," Shoriful said.