BPL 2019-20: Match 37, Review- Rossouw and Frylinck push Cumilla Warriors to the verge of elimination

Cumilla Warriors defeated the Sylhet Thunder in back-to-back games, but couldn’t hold on to the momentum against the Khulna Tigers. Dawid Malan and Co lost by 34 runs and are staring at elimination from the 2019-20 edition of the Bangabandhu BPL. In order for them to qualify, the Warriors need a few calculations to go in their favour. For the Tigers, they need one more win.

Rossouw steps on the gas

The Tigers’ openers, Najmul Hossain Shanto (38) and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (39) took their team to a steady start. The duo added 44 runs in the powerplay and upped the ante from there on. Miraz and Shanto put on 71 for the opening wicket off 55 balls. Soumya Sarkar separated the duo removing Shanto, who mistimed one to Sunzamul Islam. A couple of overs later, David Wiese castled Miraz.

However, Rilee Rossouw didn’t allow any pressure to build. The southpaw hammered his way to 71 off 36 with the help of six fours and four hits into the stands. He put on an unbeaten 85-run stand off 46 balls with Mushfiqur Rahim. The Tigers skipper chipped in with 24 off 17 and acted as an apt foil for Rossouw. The onslaught at the death helped the Tigers amass a daunting 179 in their 20 overs.

Frylinck demolishes the Warriors

The Warriors made a horrid start to their run-chase. Robbie Frylinck struck first blood getting rid of Stiaan van Zyl. Shafiul Islam delivered the body blow, finding Dawid Malan’s outside-edge. From there on Sabbir Rahman (62) and Soumya Sarkar (22) tried to inject momentum into the innings. The pair added 51 for the third wicket before the latter hit one down the throat of Mehidy in the deep.

The 11th over from Frylinck turned out to be a double wicket-maiden. Sabbir didn’t give up and got to his maiden fifty this BPL off 33 balls. To the Tigers’ dismay, Mohammad Amir got rid of him. Yasir Ali tried his best with a 15-ball 27, but his efforts went in vain. With the ball, Frylinck kept wreaking havoc, picking up a five-wicket haul. His spell of bowling shot the Warriors out for 145 in 18.2 overs.

Brief Scores

Khulna Tigers: 179/2 in 20 overs (Rilee Rossouw 71*, Mehidy Hasan Miraz 39; David Wiese 1/30)

Cumilla Warriors: 145 all out in 18.2 overs (Sabbir Rahman 62, Yasir Ali 27; Robbie Frylinck 5/16)

Khulna Tigers win by 34 runs.