Dhaka – Skipper Darren Sammy led from the front with a swashbuckling 55 not out to enable Rajshahi Kings to send Chittagong Vikings home as their eliminator match saw Kings beat Vikings by three wickets in the Bangladesh Premier League 2016 at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur in the city on Tuesday.Chasing a moderate target of 143 for victory Rajshahi Kings made a stuttering start as they were reduced to 57 for 6 after 11 overs but initially wicket keeper opening batsman Nurul Hasan stopped the rot with a valuable 38 off 28 deliveries.Then the stage was set for the former West Indian captain Darren Sammy to thwart the Chittagong’s hope with a blistering knock of unbeaten 55 off only 27 balls as he found Farhad Reza ready to provide a crucial support with 19 not out as they reached the coveted landmark scoring 143 with nine balls to spare.Sammy blazing knock included two towering sixes and seven delightful boundaries while Farhad Reza’s 19 runs came off 11 balls and was studded with three boundaries.Earlier in the chase Rajshahi’s batsmen Mominul (4), Atif Hossain (0), Sabbir Hossain (11), Patel(5) , Franklin (2) failed to impress. Mehedi Miraj scored a useful 10 runs for the seventh partnership with Sammy.But it was Sammy and Farhad’s unfinished 49 runs off 25 deliveries for the eight wickets saw Rajshahi survived from the jaw of defeat to register a famous win.They will face the loser of Dhaka Dynamites and Khulna Titans in the virtual semifinal tomorrow at the same venue.Earlier lethal bowling spell from Rajshahi Kings’ foreign recruit Kesrick Williams saw Chittagong Vikings were restricted to 142 for 8after their 20 overs.Williams captured four Rajshahi scalps for 11 runs in four overs not allowing Tamim and Gayle to score runs at blistering pace. He victims included Dwayne Smith, Tamim Iqbal, Abdur Razzak and Taskin Ahmed .Rajshahi captain Darren Sammy won the toss and opted to field first.Chittagong was going great gun with Chris Gayle and Tamim looking menacing. They reached 80 inside 11 overs. After Gayle was dismissed, Chittagong lost wickets at regular intervals and Chittagong could post only a mediocre total.Tamim was the highest scorer for his side with 51 from 46 balls. Gayle made 44 from 30.Darren Sammy quite rightly was adjudged as man of the match for his match winning innings. -BSS
