Opener Shamsur Rahman and number five Nasir Hossain guided Rangpur Riders to their maiden win in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) Season 2 in a match against the Chittagong Kings at the Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium here Tuesday.
After Chittagong Kings huffed and puffed to set a poor target of 133 in the flat, slow and low Khulna pitch, it was not easy until Shamsur Rahman steadied the Riders with his responsible 52 and Nasir Hossain’s 45 (not out) to see the Rangpur franchise claim a six-wicket win with three balls to spare.
The Riders reached the target in style as Nasir stroke a Jacob Oram delivery for boundary in the 3rd ball of the last over (135 for 4).
The 21-year-old Nasir cracked five fours and a six in his 33-ball innings while Shamsur Rahman hit two fours and two sixes in his 45-ball stay on way to a match winning 68-run partnership off 49 balls in the 4th wicket.
Nasir came in the 10th over when the Riders were 55 for 3 as opener Imrul Kayes (0) perished in the first over and one down Niall O’Brien scored 21 runs off 17 balls before Ctg Kings skipper Mahmudullah Riadh claimed Niall’s wicket in the 6th over. Then the Kings’ spearhead, pacer Shaun Tait dismantled the stumps of two down Kevin O’Brien (6).
Another pacer Jacob Oram finished with 21-2, skipper Mahmudullah 19-1 and Shaun Tait 21-1.
Earlier, batting first after winning the toss, Chittagong Kings faced early shock losing three wickets for 21 runs in 5.1 overs when Rangpur deep square leg fielder Taposh Ghosh pulled off a brilliant catch to send back opener Naeem Islam (7).
Then two down Mahmudullah and Zimbabwean Brendon Taylor put on a 73-run partnership in the 4th wicket. The pair seemed to take too much time to get settled and eventually, they scored 73 runs off 63 balls. This left the Kings in an awkward situation for accelerating their score. Finally, Chittagong managed to set 132 for 5 in the allotted 20 overs.
Mahmudullah scored run-a-ball 34 that included three fours and a six while Brendon Taylor remained not out on 65 off 51 balls hitting seven fours and two sixes.
Fidel Edwards, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Kevin O’Brien and Rangpur skipper Abdur Razzak took one wicket apiece.
Nasir Hossain of Rangpur Riders was named player of the match.
