BPL 2016, Match 9 Review: Dhaka Dynamites end unbeaten run of Rangpur Riders

Dhaka Dynamites suffered a crushing 6 wickets defeat last night against the Rajshahi Kings. They did not have a lot of time to regroup before taking on the Rangpur Riders tonight. The Riders had by far looked as the strongest unit in the tournament. With two 9-wicket wins in the first 2 matches, the Rangpur Riders had put a strong case for themselves. The powerhouse duo of Mohammad Shahzad and Shahid Afridi had been doing the business for them thus far.

Coming in to the match against the Dhaka Dynamites, the Riders did not tinker with their winning combination of overseas stars. Richard Gleeson and Liam Dawson were the other two overseas players for them. The Dynamites left out Mahela Jayawardene from their line up to bring in Seekkuge Prasanna. The Riders won the toss and opted to do what they had done better this season. They opted to field.

Mehedi Maruf launched Sohag Gazi for a six and a four in the very first over to clear his intentions. However, it was Gazi who had the last laugh as he had him caught by Afridi by the end of the first over. His opening partner Kumar Sangakkara was then joined by Nasir Hossain at the crease. The experienced duo piled on 54 runs in the powerplay and looked good for more.

Nasir Hossain perished in the 11th over in his attempt to accelerate even more. Afridi got him out on 38 off 33 balls with 6 fours. Ravi Bopara could manage only a duck as Afridi bagged his second wicket in the over. Sadly for the Dynamites, the other set batsman Sangakkara was also dismissed in the very next over on 29 off 27 balls by Gazi. Skipper Shakib Al Hasan had a task in hand with Mosaddek Hossain Saikat at the other end.

Shakib faltered scoring only 10 but the in-form batsman Saikat continued to bat well. Saikat’s unbeaten 48 off 28 with 7 fours and 2 sixes combined with two sixes from Prasanna towards the end saw Dhaka Dynamites end up with a powerful 170/6 in their stipulated 20 overs. Afridi and Gazi bagged 2 wickets each as Dawson and Arafat Sunny scalped one each.

In walked Mohammad Shahzad with Soumya Sarkar to chase the giant total on the board. Sarkar’s stay was cut short in the second over by Nasir Hossain on 2. Shakib got through the defenses of Mohammad Mithun on a duck in the next over. The onus was on Shahzad to score and he perished in the last over of the powerplay. Sunzamur Islam got rid of the dangerman on 11.

Liam Dawson was joined by skipper Naeem Islam at the crease. The Riders were struggling at 27/3 by the end of the powerplay. Naeem and Dawson added 27 runs for the 4th wicket in 32 balls before Dawson was caught lbw by Prasanna on 16 (23) in the 11th over. Shahid Afridi came in with a reputation but only to be dismissed cheaply on 6 by Shakub Al Hasan. Mohammad Shahid then accounted for dismissing Naeem Islam on 26 off 29 balls to have the Riders reeling on 67/6.

Wickets kept fumbling and Riders could never get back to the chase. They never looked anywhere close to being successful in their attempt. A bit of drama unfolded towards the end as the number eleven batsman Richard Gleeson did not come out to bat and hence the innings wrapped up on 92 in 19.2 overs. A knee injury prevented him from batting. The defeat against the Dhaka Dynamites marked their first defeat of the season. The points table is now wide open.

Brief Scores:

Dhaka Dynamites 170/6 in 20 overs (Saikat 48*, Hossain 38, Afridi 2/22, Gazi 2/31)

Rangpur Riders 92 – all out in 19.2 overs (Naeem 26, Dawson 16, Shakib 2/17, Bravo 2/21)