Rangpur Riders captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza thinks four dot balls in the final over during their chase against Rajshahi Kings cost them their Bangladesh Premier League match at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium Sunday.
The Riders needed nine off the final over but their batsmen Farhad Reza and Rilee Rossouw could fetch just three to see the team lose.
Rossouw took a single before Farhad conceded three dot balls.
They could somehow sneak a bye run in the fifth and penultimate ball, but got just a single off the last ball.
“Farhad is an experienced player. He knew what to do. He should have given the strike to Rossouw as a good shot could have sealed the match for us. But four dot balls cost us. It would have been easier if we had rotated the strike,” said Mashrafe after the match.
Mashrafe went to open the batting along with West Indian Chris Gayle.
@ridersofhope made a surprise call in their batting line-up as captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza went to open the batting alongside the West Indian @henrygayle.https://t.co/r9wvFRNhT5#CHRIS #GAYLE #MASHRAFE #BIN #MORTAZA #BPLT20 #BPL #T20 #RANGPURRIDERS #RR #RANGPUR #RIDERS #RK
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) January 13, 2019
This is the first ever time in the BPL that he opened but he failed as he got out for nought.
"We didn’t pick any openers (Sunday) (other than Gayle). Either Farhad 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,” said Mashrafe after the game.
This was the second consecutive defeat for defending champion Rangpur.
They lost by two runs in their previous match when they required 14 in the final over against Dhaka Dynamites.
Mashrafe expressed disappointment after losing two close games and said they need to work hard in order to get back to winning ways.
“It becomes tough to turn around after two consecutive defeats. There is no shortcut to get out from this position. We must work hard and try. Things are not easy but a win may change the momentum,” said the skipper.
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)
