Despite flying in their foreign recruit Umar Akmal, who only completed his national commitment last Monday in the United Arab Emirates, all the way from Dhaka to the port city by helicopter, Tamim Iqbal’s Chittagong Vikings’ luck remained unchanged as they suffered their fifth loss in six attempts in the 2015 Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 yesterday.
And yet again, batting has been a big let-down for Chittagong as they were beaten comprehensively by nine wickets against table-toppers Rangpur Riders at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.
In pursuit of a lowly 112 for victory, the Riders were oozing with confidence following the return of their talismanic captain Shakib al Hasan, who served the one-match suspension in their previous game against Comilla Victorians and immediately got into the groove by taking 2/16 from his quota of four overs.
Chasing 112, Rangpur openers Soumya Sarkar and Jahurul Islam registered the first hundred-run stand of the third edition. Jahurul was dismissed after scoring 47 off 44 balls with the help of four boundaries and a six.
From the other end, player-of-the-match Soumya exuded confidence on way to returning to form, remaining unbeaten on 58 from 56, featuring eight sweetly-timed fours and a six, while Shakib was not out on one as the Riders clinched their fourth win in six outings.
Earlier, with the exception of Tamim, none of the Vikings batsmen were able to make a mark with the bat, losing wickets at regular intervals. Sri Lankan opener Tillakaratne Dilshan departed after making 18 while Kamran Akmal (12) and Anamul Haque (14) were also dismissed cheaply.
Tamim looked in good touch but did not receive any support from the other end and was eventually dismissed after scoring the highest 36 off 43 balls.
Chittagong were depending heavily on Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal but he too failed with bat, making only one from eight deliveries and his departure made things worse for the home side.
Naeem Islam remained unbeaten on 16 as Chittagong only added 27 runs in their last five overs. Shakib and left-arm spinner Arafat Sunny picked up two wickets each for the bowling side.
