Rangpur Riders made a surprise call in their batting line-up as captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza went to open the batting alongside the West Indian Chris Gayle.
Previously, Mashrafe did not open the batting in BPL, or in any international game for that matter, and the fans were excited to see the right-hander come out to bat.
With Rangpur chasing 136, Mashrafe’s surprising decision did not work as he got out off the second ball he faced against Rajshahi Kings pacer Kamrul Islam Rabbi.
It was a good delivery from Rabbi as it had some extra bounce just outside the off-stump.
@RKingsOfficial defeated @ridersofhope by five runs after yet another close finish in the @Official_BPLT20 in Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium Sunday.https://t.co/QQ36tWQ5pg#CRICKET #BANGLADESH #BANGLADESHCRICKET #BPLT20 #BPL #T20 #BCBTIGERS #BCB #TIGERS #RK #RR
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) January 13, 2019
Mashrafe tried to defend it only to get an edge, and it was a regulation catch by wicket-keeper Zakir Hasan to finish the excitement of Mashrafe opening the batting.
After the game, Mashrafe said, "We didn’t pick any openers (Sunday) (other than Gayle). Either Farhad Reza or myself had to open. Since they (Rajshahi) had a left-handed batsman (Mominul Haque), we picked Nahidul (Islam) as an off-spinner. So someone had to open. That’s why I went to open.
"This is not a big deal. It’s not an issue. We were determined that even if they score 60, I would open. It was our thinking."
13TH MATCH, RKvRR
RAJSHAHI KINGS INNINGS R B
Mominul st Mithun b Gazi 14 16
Miraz c Shafiul b Mashrafe 0 1
Soumya c Farhad b Mashrafe 18 13
Hafeez run out (Bopara) 26 29
Zakir not out 42 36
Evans c Bopara b Farhad 2 7
Doeschate run out (Farhad) 14 10
Udana c Gazi b Farhad 8 5
Arafat b Shafiul 1 2
Rabbi not out 1 1
Extras (b 1, lb 3, w 5) 9
Total (20 Overs) 135/8
Fall Of Wickets
1-6 (Miraz), 2-33 (Mominul), 3-36 (Soumya), 4-90 (Hafeez), 5-96 (Evans), 6-112 (Doeschate), 7-130 (Udana), 8-133 (Arafat)
Bowling
Gazi 3-0-25-1, Mashrafe 4-0-22-2, Nahidul 2-0-14-0, Nazmul 2-0-14-0, Howell 3-0-20-0, Shafiul 4-0-19-1, Farhad 2-0-17-2
RANGPUR RIDERS INNINGS R B
Gayle c Soumya b Rabbi 23 14
Mashrafe c Zakir b Rabbi 0 2
Mithun c Evans b Hafeez 30 31
Rossouw not out 44 46
Bopara b Hafeez 1 5
Howell run out (Mominul) 4 6
Nahidul c Soumya b Udana 16 12
Farhad not out 0 4
Extras (b 1, lb 3, w 2, pen 5) 11
Total (20 Overs) 129/6
Fall Of Wickets
1-2 (Mashrafe), 2-31 (Gayle), 3-71 (Mithun), 4-83 (Bopara), 5-92 (Howell), 6-126 (Nahidul)
Bowling
Rabbi 2-0-22-2, Miraz 4-0-25-0, Udana 4-0-22-1, Mustafizur 4-0-17-0, Arafat 2-0-12-0, Hafeez 4-0-22-2
Rajshahi Kings won by five runs
MoM: Zakir Hasan (RK)
