Dhaka set up Comilla clash after overcoming Rangpur

Holder Dhaka Dynamites clinched a convincing 43-run victory against Rangpur Riders to seal second spot in the BPL 2017 points table after their match at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka Wednesday. Dhaka now have 15 points from 12 games, level with Khulna Titans, who also have 15 points from 12 matches. But Dhaka have a better net run rate (1.631) compared to Khulna (0.075) and thus, the Dynamites secured second place. And so, Khulna will face Rangpur in the Eliminator Friday afternoon at the home of cricket in Mirpur while Dhaka will face table-topper Comilla Victorians in Qualifier 1 in the evening at the same venue. Chasing 138, Rangpur managed 94 losing seven wickets in their stipulated 20 overs. Only three batsmen reached double digit for Rangpur with all-rounder Ravi Bopara not out on 28, opener Johnson Charles scoring 26 and lower-order batsman Nahidul Islam making 13. Dhaka captain Shakib al Hasan was the best bowler for his side as he took two wickets for 13 runs from his quota of four overs. In-form pacer Abu Haider Rony also bagged two wickets for 23 runs from four overs. Earlier, Dhaka elected to bat. Dhaka made four changes, including batsman Mehedi Maruf, bowler Mohammad Saddam, pacer Mohammad Amir and opener Evin Lewis in place of all-rounder Shahid Afridi, batsman Cameron Delport, youngster Shadman Islam and batsman Nadif Chowdhury. There were seven changes in the Rangpur side as they rested captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza, opener Chris Gayle, all-rounder Ziaur Rahman, Sri Lanka’s Chamara Kapugedera, spinners Nazmul Islam and Sohag Gazi and Sri Lanka’s Isuru Udana. In came paceman Rubel Hossain, spinner Abdur Razzak, batsman Shahriar Nafees, pace bowler Ebadat Hossain, Charles, England’s Adam Lyth and spinner Samuel Badree. Dhaka lost the wicket of opener Sunil Narine (four) quickly as the left-hander got out in the first ball of the second over. Dhaka lost regular wickets from there and at one stage were struggling on 48 for the loss of five wickets inside 10 overs. Then Shakib and Maruf formed a crucial 55-run partnership for the sixth wicket. Maruf scored 33 off 23 balls before being caught by Nahidul off the bowling of Rubel. Player of the match Shakib remained unbeaten till the end, playing a captain’s knock of 47 off 33 balls with two fours and as many sixes. Ebadat and Rubel took two wickets each for Rangpur.BRIEF SCORERangpur Riders 94/7 (Shakib 2/13, Rony 2/23) lost to Dhaka Dynamites 137/7 (Shakib 47*, Maruf 33) by 43 runs WHAT THEY SAIDBrendon McCullum, Rangpur Riders batsmanIt’s tough to comment what went wrong for us. I think we bowled well in the first 15 overs. And about batting, I believe a couple of decisions went against us. On a surface like this, any decision which don’t go your way can affect you. Johnson Charles, who was looking in good touch, especially for a guy who hadn’t played in a while, he could have gone deeper into the innings. Samuel Badree bowled well. Unfortunately, he did not get a chance in the tournament. We have some good quality players in our side. So we have to choose players according to the situation. Our coach Tom Moody and captain Mashrafe [bin Mortaza] will take the decision about which overseas players can be useful.Mehedi Maruf, Dhaka Dynamites batsmanIn the initial stage, we played our best in some matches. Thereafter, we needed a win following defeats in some close games. We needed this win for a better place in the points table. There is an advantage in being placed in the top two positions as a team get two chances. And there is always pressure if you end up third or fourth. So, we feel a bit relaxed. The wickets in Chittagong are much better than Dhaka. I don’t know why this is happening. We have to play despite this. We are confident enough after winning such a match. Now we have the confidence to beat any team. We expect to play better cricket.