BPL 4, Match 36, Review: Barisal Bulls stay in the hunt with win over Rajshahi Kings

Barisal Bulls locked horns with the Rajshahi Kings in the 36th match of the season. Both teams chased momentum leading into the playoffs. Comilla Victorians had registered upset wins against these two teams in their last two encounters. Having faced heavy defeats at the hands of Victorians, both Rajshahi and Barisal were keen on getting back to winning ways.

Rajshahi Kings skipper Darren Sammy won the toss and elected to bowl first. Sammy included Raqibul Hasan in the playing eleven to strengthen the batting line-up. Barisal Bulls brought back bowler Rayad Emrit in their squad. Clearly, either of the team had misread the surface. One looked to bolster their bowling and the other keen on strengthening the batting line up.

For the Barisal Bulls, it was Jeevan Mendis who opened the innings with Dawid Malan. Mehedi Hasan shared the new ball with Mohammad Sami. As the trend of the season has been, the spinner Hasan struck in his very first over. He dismissed Mendis on 6. Fazle Mahmud was the new man in at the crease. Mahmud and Malan took Barisal Bulls to safety.

Playing very cautiously, the scrambled their way to 33 in the powerplay. Malan stepped on the accelerator from thereon. While Malan played aggressive shots, Mahmud was content in rotating the strike. Rajshahi Kings had their chances. Substitute fielder Salman dropped Mahmud early on in the innings.

The Bulls capitalized on the let off and the duo rallied along. Malan reached his fifty in style as he muscled Nazmul Islam over the cow corner for a six. The 100-run stand came in just 70 balls. The breakthrough came in the form of a run out in the 14th over. A direct hit from Nazmul saw Malan depart after scoring 56 off 33 balls with 6 fours and 3 sixes.

Farhad Reza sent Mahmud packing too, in the same over. Mahmud scored a run-a-ball 43 before getting dismissed. Two new batsmen Thisara Perera and Shahriar Nafees were at the crease with 6 overs to go. Both played with long handles to take Barisal Bulls to a total of 161/4 in their 20 overs.

Perera scored an unbeaten 29 off 22 balls, while Nafees managed 16* off 6 balls. Two sixes from Nafees in the last over set it up for the Bulls.

Nurul Hasan and Mominul Haque made way to the middle to kickstart the run chase for Rajshahi Kings. Nurul looked promising as he hit two fours straightaway. However, he had to make the long walk back in the 3rd over. Monir Hossain trapped him lbw on 12. Sabbir Rahman failed to get into the double digits yet again and perished on 8 on a Rayad Emrit delivery.

Samit Patel walked in to join Mominul. Patel looked to counter-attack but was jolted with the wicket of Mominul. Mominul was caught and bowled by Enamul Haque on 16 in the 8th over to see Rajshahi Kings reel on 53/3. Bulls made a stronger hold on the game by sending Raqibul cheaply on 8. James Franklin finally gave some support to Samit Patel. Patel continued to play his natural game as he brought up his fifty.

The Rajshahi Kings went past the 100-run mark in the process. Towards the end of the run chase, Franklin lost patience and departed after scoring a run-a-ball 18. Kamrul Islam Rabbi got the key scalp to bring Darren Sammy at the crease. With Patel set on 62 and Sammy arriving at the crease, the Kings needed 33 off the last 2 overs.

Just when the stage was set for the Rajshahi to launch, Samit Patel was dismissed by Rayad Emrit in the penultimate over. Patel scored 62 off 51 balls with 7 fours and a six. Farhad Reza became Emrit’s third scalp as the match was well in hands of Barisal Bulls. 28 off the last over was just a little too much for Sammy and co.

They ended up falling short by 17 runs and finished up with 144/7 in their 20 overs. The Barisal Bulls won by 17 runs.

Brief Scores:

Barisal Bulls: 161/4 in 20 overs (Malan 56, Mahmud 43, Sami 1/16, Reza 1/32)

Rajshahi Kings: 144/7 in 20 overs (Patel 62, Franklin 18, Emrit 3/27, Hossain 1/17)