Barisal go to final at Rangpur’s expense

The highest third wicket partnership in BPL of 124 runs between Sabbir Rahman and Shahriar Nafees was the cornerstone of a famous victory over Rangpur Riders in the 2nd qualifier of BPL tonight.

Sabbir scored 79 while Shahriar managed 44 runs to shepherd the chase after the fall of early wickets.

For Rangpur, Shakib Al Hasan, Arafat Sunny, Darren Sammy and Thisara Perera took a wicket each. Riders may reflect on the several dropped chances. And they didn’t have the rub of the green in this match.

Kevin Cooper and Rayad Emrit of Barisal struck some opportune boundaries and sent their team into the final with a bang!

Barisal captain Mahmudullah scored five runs and was dismissed in the 19th over to give Rangpur some respite.

Rangpur took the crucial wicket of Sabbir Rahman in the 18th over, and the match became interesting with every ball. Darren Sammy held on to tough catch at long-on as Sabbir had cracked the ball from Thisara Perera, got the height but not the distance.

Sabbir was spectacular tonight. He scored 79 runs from 49 balls with seven fours and three sixes punctuating his knock.

Barisal fans could have breathed easy had Sabbir stayed till the end, but kudos to this Barisal batsman! He showed tonight why he is considered a special talent among the leading cricketers of Bangladesh.

Sabbir and Shahriar took their team Barisal to the cusp of victory with their superb partnership under pressure.

When Shahriar Nafees was run-out in the 17th over, Barisal were in the driver’s seat. The third wicket partnership yielded 124 runs.

Shahriar scored 44 before he needlessly ran himself out. It was a non-existent single. The Barisal batter faced 40 balls and struck six fours in his timely knock.

After the early wobble, Barisal’s Sabbir Rahman and Shahriar Nafees consolidated the innings, and began to step on the gas after the half-way mark in their chase.

Their partnership for the third wicket reached 69 runs in the 11 th over, and Barisal need at least one of them to take the Bulls home.

Barisal Bulls were reeling early in their chase when Rangpur Riders managed to pick two wickets in quick time.

Shakib Al Hasan struck in the third over and gave his side good reasons to celebrate. The Rangpur skipper’s arm ball struck Barisal’s Prasanna in front and the umpire sent the Sri Lankan cricketer back.

Prasanna played across the line with an angled bat, and perished in the process. He scored seven runs.

Rangpur’s Arafat Sunny gave his side the first breakthrough in the second over. Barisal opener Rony Talukdar lofted the ball cleanly, but could only hit it as far as long-on.

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. File Photo: STAR

Earlier, a breezy fifty from Lendl Simmons top of the order and some late hitting from Darren Sammy allow Rangpur Riders to reach 160 in 20 overs against Barisal Bulls.

Simmons’ 73 from 57 balls, and then Sammy’s 23 in 10 were the highlights in Riders’ total, which was more than what their captain asked for at the toss. Shakib would’ve been happy with 140, but the extra 20 runs may prove vital tonight.

Barisal’s West Indian allrounder was the pick of the bowlers from his team. He grabbed four wickets for 39 in four overs. Mohammad Sami, Al-Amin and Seekkuge Prasanna took a wicket each.

Barisal captain would be disappointed with the big overs late in the game, especially when it looked like Barisal would restrict Rangpur to somewhere below 140.

The last over saw a flurry of wickets, when Darren Sammy, Mohammad Nabi and Saqlain Sajib were dismissed while going for the big hits. Kevin Cooper took two wickets but conceded 13 runs.

Just after the departure of Simmons, Rangpur’s Sri Lankan allrounder Thisara Perera followed him to the dug-out. Perera was caught and bowled for five by Barisal’s Kevin Cooper.

Barisal didn’t allow the Rangpur batters to score big late, and kept pegging the Riders back with wickets at crucial junctures of this match

The 17th over from Mohammad Sami saw the downfall of Rangpur batter Lendl Simmons. Simmons tried to play a cheeky ramp shot, moved across the off stump, missed the ball and was bowled all ends up!

Simmons was the mainstay for Rangpur’s innings tonight. He scored 73 runs from 57 balls. He took more risks later in his knock and smashed nine fours and two sixes in total during his stay at the crease.

Barisal Bulls took the crucial wicket of Rangpur skipper Shakib Al Hasan just before the strategic time-out in the 16th over. Rangpur need to accelerate but cannot afford to lose wickets at the death overs.

Al Amin struck for Barisal when he sent back Shakib for 13 runs. Another failure with the bat for Bangladesh’s top allrounder!

Rangpur opener Lendl Simmons struck his second fifty of BPL-2015 and gave his team hope of putting up a big total on the board.

He reached his fifty in the 13th over, and looked good to bat till the end. Simmons faced 43 balls for 50 runs, and smacked five fours and two sixes along the way.

Soumya Sarkar poor run continued with another cheap dismissal in this year’s BPL. He lasted eight balls and scored six runs. Cooper got him in the 11th over.

Kevin Cooper was the bowler who gave Barisal their second wicket, and credit should go to Mohammad Sami for pulling off a brilliant catch in the outfield.

Barisal’s Sri Lankan recruit Prasanna gave the Bulls their first breakthrough in the ninth over when Abdullah Al Mamun of Rangpur was dismissed for 20 runs.

Al Mamun went back in his crease to cut the ball but was beaten by the pace and his middle stump was pegged back.

The 52-run opening stand for Rangpur didn’t set the stage on fire, but provided the much needed stability top of the order for Riders.

Rangpur Riders openers came to bat with a plan, and didn’t go all gung-ho from ball one. They were watchful to begin with, and dispatched the odd loose away.

In the last over of power-play, Simmons was severe on Barisal’s Taijul Islam, and hammered the spinner for 14 runs to stamp his authority on the game early.

Rangpur Riders captain Shakib Al Hasan won the toss in this second qualifier of BPL-2015 against Barisal Bulls and decided to bat first and put up a good total on the board at Mirpur tonight.

After the blow-out against Comilla Victorians on December 12, Rangpur Riders need to bounce back, and bounce with vengeance if they want to give Barisal Bulls a run for their money.

Batting is still Rangpur’s Achilles heel, and the 72-run loss against the Victorians give ample proof of their batting frailties under pressure.

Barisal Bulls are a team riding high on confidence, and their foreign recruits have started to come good at the business end of the tournament.

With two consecutive wins over the eliminated Dhaka Dynamites, Barisal cannot afford to become complacent, and hopefully for their fans, the players are not sitting on their laurels.

Tonight is the second qualifier for the final match. Comilla Victorians have already booked their place. It will either be Barisal or Rangpur to join them on December 15.

Rangpur Riders

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

Barisal Bulls

Rony Talukdar (Wicketkeeper), CH Gayle, Sabbir Rahman, Mahmudullah (Captain), Mehedi Maruf, RR Emrit, KK Cooper, Nadif Chowdhury, Al-Amin Hossain, Taijul Islam, Mohammad Sami, Sharifullah, S Prasanna, Sohag Gazi, E Lewis, Suhrawadi Shuvo, N Dutta, BRM Taylor

Barisal players celebrate the fall of wicket during BPL-2015. File Photo: STAR