BPL 4, Match 21 Review: Rajshahi Kings pip Dhaka Dynamites to win high scoring thriller

Dhaka Dynamites were on a roll this season until they lost their last encounter. The Rajshahi Kings have been struggling to find consistency in all departments. Both teams had consistency in mind when they locked horns in the 21st Match of the season. With the tournament reaching it’s half way stage, the stakes were high for either of the sides.

The Dhaka Dynamites were comfortably placed among the top three sides in the points table. No wonder, they were the favorites against the low ranked Rajshahi Kings this season. Having won the toss, Dhaka skipper Shakib Al Hasan opted to bat first. The idea was to maximize the score since it was a day game. The pitch has had a lot to offer to the batsmen in day games this season.

They played with their same overseas quartet that featured in their previous encounter. Kumar Sangakkara got another go despite his poor run this season. The Rajshahi Kings brought back Mohammad Sami in the lineup at the expense of Milind Siriwardana. With the pitch not offering enough assistance in day games, the move seemed legit.

Openers Mehedi Maruf and Kumar Sangakkara walked into the middle to kick start the proceedings. Both batsmen made the full use of no lateral movement of the deck. With shots all round the ground, the Dynamites registered their first ever 50-run opening stand this season. Sangakkara, in particular, looked brilliant and responded well for the faith bestowed on him.

They piled up 51 runs in the powerplay. Maruf perished in the 8th over as the opening stand came to a halt after adding 71 runs. Abul Hasan got rid of Maruf who scored 35 off 25 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes. Mosaddek Hossain Saikat was promoted up the order to continue the run flow. However, it was the senior partner Sangakkara, who did bulk of the scoring. The veteran Sri Lanka batsman brought up his first fifty of the season.

Farhad Reza caught and bowled Mosaddek in the 15th over on 13 (17) just when the Dhaka Dynamites had started to cut loose. Reza got rid of set batsman Sangakkara too after 3 more deliveries in the same over. Sanga’s knock came to an end on 65 off 46 balls with 5 fours and 3 sixes.

With two new batsmen at the crease, Seekkuge Prasanna and Matt Coles, Dhaka expected them to blast straight away. Prasanna had hit an 18-ball fifty in the last game. He looked to continue the same form. Despite losing Coles at the other end, Prasanna blasted an unbeaten 34 off 16 balls with 2 fours and 3 sixes to steer Dhaka Dynamites to 182/4 in 20 overs. Shakib Al Hasan also played a handy unbeaten 18 off 12 balls.

The chase was never going to be easy for the Rajshahi Kings. However, with the deck looking like a batting belter, the match could have gone either way. But the Rajshahi Kings did themselves no good as they lost Junaid Siddique (4) and Sabbir Rahman (7) cheaply in the powerplay overs. Dwayne Bravo and Mohammad Shahid accounted for their dismissals respectively. Meanwhile, opener Mominul was joined by Samit Patel at the crease.

What followed after that was a complete onslaught. Both batsmen made a mockery of the Dhaka Dynamites bowling line up. Patel looked threatening as he middled almost every ball for a boundary in the middle overs. They added 100 runs for the 3rd wicket in just 63 balls to get the Rajshahi Kings right back in the game. En route their century stand, they got to their respective half centuries too. While Mominul played a calm knock, Patel’s fifty was an exposion.

Mohammad Shahid struck for the second time to break the stand. Mominul was dismissed on 56 off 42 balls with 8 fours and a six in the 15th over. Patel lost his wicket soon after. It was Shakib Al Hasan who cleaned up Patel. Samit Patel thundered 75 off just 39 balls with 5 fours and 6 sixes to take Rajshahi closer to the target.

Dwayne Bravo quickly got rid of Umar Akmal (12) and Darren Sammy (9) to claw back the match for Dhaka Dynamites. The match swung either way. 9 runs were needed off the last over with Matt Coles being the bowler. Coles dismissed Abul Hasan on the very first ball to get the Rajshahi 7 down.

Mehedi Hasan and Farhad Reza had a stiff task of getting 9 in the last five. A single from Hasan got Reza on strike. Reza struck a powerful four and then returned the strike to Hasan. With 3 needed off 2 balls, Hasan sliced the ball over cover for a four. The Rajshahi Kings won by 3 wickets and registered their 2nd win of the season. For the Dhaka Dynamites, it was their 2nd loss in a row.

Brief Scores:

Dhaka Dynamites 182/4 in 20 overs (Sangakkara 65, Maruf 35, Reza 2/22, Sami 1/20)

Rajshahi Kings 184/7 in 19.5 overs (Patel 75, Mominul 56, Bravo 3/35, Shahid 2/29)