Dhaka – Bangladesh stalwart Tamim Iqbal and Pakistani batsman Asif Ali guided Dhaka Platoon to a challenging total of 174 for 5 in 20 overs in the ongoing Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Monday.
Royals captain, West Indian superstar Andre Russell, won the toss and sent Platoon to bat first. Platoon lost off-form batsman Anamul Haque Bijoy for just 10 runs off nine balls. England batsman Luis Reece came at number three but failed to impress with his bat.
Tamim was confident on the other end of the wicket. Mahedi Hasan, who hit two consecutive fifties earlier, joined Tamim in the wicket, and they added 37 runs in the third wicket stand.
However, Platoon needed to accelerate the innings to put up a challenging total.Ariful Haque and Mashrafe Bin Mortaza failed to do that. Arif fell only for seven while Mashrafe suffered a duck.
Asif Ali came to bat at number seven to make a stand of 90 runs off 46 balls. Asif hit 55 off 28 balls with four fours and as many sixes while Tamim posted 68 off 52 with for fours and three sixes.
It was Tamim’s third fifty in the ongoing BPL. He smashed first fifty against Cumilla Warriors before recording another one against Sylhet Thunder.
Farhad Reza bagged two wickets conceding 44 runs in three overs while Russell and Shoaib Malik took one wicket each.UNB
