BPL 4, Match 40, Review: Afif, Franklin guide Rajshahi Kings to crushing win over the Vikings

The Rajshahi Kings locked horns with the Chittagong Vikings in their last league match of the season. A lot was at stake for both sides. The Vikings were comfortably placed at number 2 with 12 points. The Rajshahi were at number 5 with 10 points. A win for Rajshahi would have taken them to the top four. A better net run rate than the other teams barring Dhaka Dynamites would have made their case stronger for the playoffs.

Coming in to the match, Darren Sammy’s luck with the toss continued. He won the crucial toss and opted to bowl first. They drafted in Kesrick Williams in place of Mohammad Sami in their playing eleven. The Chittagong Vikings looked happy with their settled eleven that featured in the last game. The destructive duo of Tamim Iqbal and Chris Gayle strolled to the pitch to open for the Vikings.

Tamim, who had been the best batsmen for the Vikings this season, was dismissed for a golden duck. Kesrick Williams was too hot to handle for the southpaw. This was not a good omen for the Vikings. In the very next over, Mehedi Hasan bowled Anamul Haque, who had hit two fours since his arrival at the crease. Jahurul Islam went an inch better with 3 fours in his 13 before being lbw by Afif Hossain.

The big man watched from the other end. It was not his day either. Afif struck again to send Gayle packing on 5. Afif was on a roll. He made the stay of Zakir Hasan short too. Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Nabi were at the crease. With Afif bagging three already, he looked threatening. Nazmul Islam struck to have Mohammad Nabi stumped on 12.

Skipper Sammy saw Afif going through a dream spell. He smelled blood and gave him yet another over – the last of his spell. Afif made short work of Saqlain Sajib and Imran Khan Jr in the 13th over to complete a brilliant five-wicket haul. He finished with figures of 5/21 as Chittagong Vikings struggled at 70/8 in 13 overs.

Meanwhile, the runs were coming slowly, yet surely. Shoaib Malik kept the scorecard ticking. The veteran Pakistani batsman brought up his fifty to help the Vikings go past the 100-run mark. A fighting unbeaten 67 off 54 balls with 6 fours and 3 sixes from him saw Chittagong finish with 111/9 in their 20 overs. Kesrick Williams was phenomenal in his spell too. He returned with figures of 2/11 in his 4 overs.

Nurul Hasan and Mominul Haque came to start the proceedings for the Rajshahi Kings in the run chase. They started off cautiously in the modest run chase. They almost saw the Rajshahi Kings go wicketless in the powerplay. By it was Saqlain who dismissed Nurul on 12 on the penultimate delivery of the powerplay.

The Rajshahi Kings finished with 32/1 in their powerplay. Mominul followed him soon after with 21 to his name in 28 balls. It was Saqlain again who got through his defenses in the 8th over. Sabbit Rahman was joined by James Franklin in the run chase. Rahman’s poor run with the bat continued as he could manage just 8 before being lbw by Imran Khan.

Meanwhile, James Franklin took all on himself and looked in a hurry. His whirlwind knock saw the Rajshahi Kings cruising. He brought up his fifty in just 23 balls and absolute carnage fell upon the Vikings. Franklin his 5 fours and 4 sixes in his unbeaten 27-ball 63 that saw Rajshahi Kings win by 6 wickets with 37 balls to spare. A thumping win now sees them storm into the top four.

Brief Scores:

Chittagong Vikings 111/9 in 20 overs (Malik 67*, Nabi 12, Afif 5/21, Kesrick 2/11)

Rajshahi Kings 112/4 in 13.5 overs (Franklin 63*, Mominul 21, Saqlain 2/9, Imran 2/30)