Published: Dec 07, 2016, 09:36 PM (IST)
Edited: Dec 07, 2016, 09:50 PM (IST)
The Rajshahi Kings stormed into the final of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2016 defeating Khulna Titans by 7 wickets in the Qualifier 2. Chasing 126 for a place in the final against Dhaka Dynamites, Kings achieved the target in 19.2 overs. Sabbir Rahman (43 from 52 balls) and James Franklin (30 from 24 balls) remained unbeaten and added 62 runs for the fourth wicket to take their team home. This is also the first time that the Rajshahi Kings have qualified for the summit clash of the BPL. Earlier in the first innings, it was Samit Patel who’s 3 for 19 made sure that the Titans were restricted to 125 runs.
The Kings had a bad start to their chase as they lost opener Mominul Haque (2 from 4 balls) on the 7th ball of the second innings. Wicketkeeper-batsman Nurul Hasan (14 from 11 balls) and No. 3 batsman Afif Hossain (26 from 27 balls) tried added some resistance but Mosharraf Hossain got better of Hasan. Sabbir Rahman walked in at No. 4 and batted brilliantly in a pressure situation to make a mockery of the total in hand.
Rahman And Afif added 67 together before the former departed. James Franklin put all his international experience into play and saw his side to a comfortable win which was set up beautifully by their bowlers.
Earlier, winning the toss the Khulna Titans opted to bat as the wicket was supposed to be conducive to the team batting first. They started off well with both their openers Hasanuzzaman and Abdul Majid being watchful in the first two overs. Hasanuzzaman was the first to walk back to the dugout as he had a terrible mix-up with his partner.
Just before the Titans could even digest his loss, Majid departed in a similar fashion exposing Titans’ nervousness coming into this match. Shuvagata Hom walked in at No. 4 but failed to take his team out of a tight spot. He was dismissed by Farhad Reza for 4 off 6 balls,
Titans’ wicketkeeper-batsman Nicholas Pooran had been in a good form in the group stage and the responsibility again rested on his shoulders. He kept running out of partners from the other end before ending his innings at 22 runs off 10 deliveries.
Moreover, there was a lot riding on the Titans’ skipper Mahmudullah when he came in at No. 5. Mahmudullah who had scored 24 per cent of his side’s total runs also had a forgettable outing leaving his side in further misery. He too departed for 22 runs off 28 deliveries off Samit Patel’s’ bowling.
This was the time when Patel started posing problems in the middle order. He first dismissed Mahmudullah followed by Benny Howel and lastly removed Kevon Cooper. Patel was, hence, the best bowler for Kings as he finished with the figures of 3 for 19 in 4 overs while Kesrick William, Farhad Reza and Darren Sammy got one wicket each.
Ariful Haque displayed some big shots in the death overs to made sure that his side gets past 120 but the damage was long done. Nonetheless, he scored 32 runs off 29 deliveries which consisted of 2 boundaries and 1 huge six.
Titans posted 126 for the Kings to prevail in the final but it never proved to be challenging for Sammy’s side. They will now face Shakib Al Hasan’s Dhaka Dynamites on 9th December to earn the title.
Brief scores:
Khulna Titans 125 for 9 in 20 overs (Nicholas Pooran 22, Ariful Haque 32*; Samit Patel 3 for 19) lost to Rajshahi Kings 129 for 3 in 19.2 overs (Sabbir Rahman 43*, James Franklin 30*; Mahmudullah 1 for 10) by 7 wickets and 4 balls remaining.
Man of the Match – Samit Patel
