Rangpur cruise past Khulna to top table

Rangpur Riders cruised to a seven-wicket win over Khulna Titans and replaced them at the top of the points table. A strong bowling performance restricted Khulna to 125 for 7, before Mohammad Mithun and Mohammad Shahzad contributed 49 not out and 37 respectively to ease Rangpur past the target with an over to spare.

The Khulna bowlers had previously defended two low totals earlier in the tournament, but this was a task that quickly got out of reach after a 74-run second-wicket stand between Mithun and Shahzad.

After opting to bat, there seem to be very little intent from the Khulna batsmen. Abdul Mazid and Andre Fletcher were both dismissed by Arafat Sunny. Mahmudullah gave deep midwicket a simple catch in the eighth over before Rikki Wessels and Taibur Rahman added 56 runs in the 55 balls.

Wessels’ only six came off a switch hit in his 33-ball 27 while Taibur, who top-scored with 32 off 37 balls, struck a six over midwicket and also hit three fours. Both their sixes came in the 15th over, in which Liam Dawson conceded 19 runs.

The two other sixes in the innings came in the last over when Ariful Haque slammed Shahid Afridi straight both times before being run-out off the final ball. Afridi, Sunny and Rubel Hossain finished with two wickets each.

Shahzad and Mithun made light work of Khulna’s total after they got together in the fourth over. Shahzad quickly got over Soumya Sarkar’s wicket with a huge six over long-on before hitting over point twice.

Mithun had struck three sixes in the span of five deliveries, pulling Alok Kapali twice and hammering Mosharraf Hossain over long-off. Shahzad holed out to long-on for 37.

Afridi, promoted to No 4, survived twice in the 15th over, first being bowled off a no-ball by Benny Howell before the bowler dropped a skier off the last ball of that over. Dawson’s edged four completed the win with an over to spare. Mithun was unbeaten on 49 off 41 balls.

Source: espncricinfo