BPL 2016, Match 5 Review: Afridi, Sunny specials sink Khulna Titans to crushing defeat

Rangpur Riders were flying sky high after their emphatic 9 wicket win over Chittagong Vikings last night. Khulna Titans came into the match on a winning note too. Skipper Mahmudullah had turned out to be the man with the golden arm for them against the Rajshahi Kings. A win is a win anyway and the Titans took it with both hands on the other day. What perspired for them in the game against the Riders remains to be a forgettable story for them.

Coming into the match, they were up against a rampaging bowling line up combined with some very ordinary batting display. The Riders won the toss and skipper Naeem Islam had no hesitation in opting to bowl first. With Mohammad Shahzad in their line up, they fancied their chances of chasing any target. They did not shuffle any overseas players from their lineup. With powerhouses like Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Shahzad in the lineup, they had the backing from Liam Dawson and Richard Gleeson.

The Titans too stuck with their overseas combination of Junaid Khan, Mohammad Asghar, Nicholas Pooran and Riki Wessels. Abdul Mazid and Nicholas Pooran walked in to start the proceedings for the Titans. Sohag Gazi dismissed Pooran for a golden duck on the second delivery of the match. Gazi then inflicted a run out in the 3rd over to send Mazid back in the dugout on 6.

What followed next was a Shahid Afridi show. Afridi got through the defenses of Riki Wessels on his very first delivery. On the very next ball, Alok Kapali had to make the long walk back with a golden duck to his name. He played down the wrong line to find himself plumb in front of the stumps. Richard Gleeson accounted for the dismissal of skipper Mahmudullah in the meantime. Afridi came back to strike for the 3rd time in space of 8 balls to get rid of Shuvagata Hom on 12.

Arafat Sunny was introduced into the attack and he took very less time to get rid of the tail of the Titans line up. Meanwhile, Afridi bagged his fourth scalp of the night by dismissing Nur Alam. Afridi looked set for a five-for but there were no more batsmen left for him to bowl at. Arafat Sunny cleaned up 3 batsmen without giving a run away in his spell of 2.4 overs. Afridi ended up with figures of 4/12 in his 3 overs as Khulna Titans bundled out for 44 in 10.4 overs.

Also read – Twitter Reactions: Shahid Afridi is back at his very best against Khulna Titans

Shuvagata Hom was the only Titans batsman to have got into the double digits as the Titans faced massive embarrassment. As many as 5 batsmen in the line up made the long walk back without scoring a run in the innings. With Mohammad Shahzad in the opposition, they feared that the match might just get over in the power play.

Chasing a paltry 45 for the win, Shahzad walked in to bat with Soumya Sarkar. A no ball first up by Junaid Khan gave Shahzad a free hit to start off with. Shahzad took full advantage of it to hit over the fence. Much to the relief of the Titans, Shahzad was caught and bowled by Junaid Khan in the 3rd over on 13 (16). In walked Mohammad Mithun to join Sarkar in the middle.

The duo batted sensibly and knew there was no need to take any unnecessary risk. Sarkar remained unbeaten on 13 off 19 balls and Mithun remained unbeaten on 15 off 15 balls to see the Rider win the match by 9 wickets. This was their 2nd win in a row and both by the same margin.

Rangpur Riders now have won 2 in 2 to move to the top of the points table. The Titans will have a lot to ponder about after their dismal show today.

Brief Scores:

Khulna Titans 44/10 in 10.4 overs (Shuvagata 12, Mazid 6, Afridi 4/12, Sunny 3/0)

Rangpur Riders 45/1 in 8 overs (Mithun 15*, Sarkar 13*, Junaid 1/14)

Watch: Shahid Afridi’s spell of 4/12:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqmdXn3imJ4