BPL 3 Match 15 Review: Rangpur Riders v Chittagong Vikings, Riders trash Vikings in a one-sided contest

BPL 3 Match 15 Review: Rangpur Riders v Chittagong Vikings, Riders trash Vikings in a one-sided contest: The Vikings won the toss and elected to bat first on a flat pitch at Chittagong. Looking to get back to winning ways, Tamim Iqbal felt runs on the board was the best option however his batsmen failed to deliver the goods. The Riders put in a highly disciplined performance winning a fairly one-sided contest by 9 wickets. Shakib Al Hasan, the Riders’ skipper bowled yet another marvelous spell and led by example.

Tamim started the proceeding with a first ball boundary off Darren Sammy. Mohammad Nabi finally got a game and bowled a first tight over. Dilshan stuck 2 boundaries in the 4th over and the Vikings were off to a solid start putting on 36 runs from the power play overs. Arafat Sunny gave the Riders a breakthrough removing Dilshan for 18.

Kamran Akmal smashed a six and four however was dismissed in the same over, the 9th of the innings, by Sunny. The wickets of Anamul Haque and Tamim further dented the progress of the Riders. Tamim top scored for his team with a 36 off 43 balls including 2 fours. Umar Akmal played last evening against England flew in for the BPL however had a forgettable outing scoring 1 off 8 balls. He didn’t look happy to be given out caught behind off Shakib.

The lower order couldn’t offer much resistance as the Riders finished on 111/8 off 20 overs. The Chittagong bowlers did a fantastic job led by Shakib with figures of 2/16.

Naeem Islam and Mohammad Amir bowled two tight overs conceding just 3 runs however Naeem conceded 2 fours and a six in the 3^rd over as the opposition openers broke the shackles. The six by Jahurul Islam was a superb strike down the ground over long-off. Under no pressure whatsoever, the openers took singles and hit an occasional boundary.

Sarkar hit Asif Hasan for a six and a four as the Riders looked comfortably placed at 63 runs at the end of 10 overs. The openers were able to consistently hit one four in an over and kept the scoreboard ticking. Shafiul Islam finally got the first and the only wicket dismissing Jahurul in the 16^th over. He scored 47 off 44 including 4 fours and 1 six. Sarkar soon brought up his fifty and remained unbeaten on 58 off 56 balls as the Riders cruised to an easy victory with 3 overs to spare.

Brief Scores:

Chittagong Vikings – 111/8 in 20 overs (T Iqbal 36; Shakib 2/16)

Rangpur Riders – 113/1 in 17 overs (S Sarkar 58*; S Islam 1/22)

Man of the Match: Soumya Sarkar (Rangpur Riders)