Rajshahi begin with emphatic win

Zazai, Malik tear apart toothless Dhaka attack

Hazratullah Zazai (56 not out) and Shoaib Malik (36 not out) provided Rajshahi Royals a flying start when they thrashed star-studded Dhaka Platoon by a thumping nine wickets in their first match of the day two of the Akash-DTH Bangabandhu-Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.

Despite being formed a star-studded team by Tamim Iqbal, Thesara Perera, Shahid Afridi, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and Wahab Riaz, the Platoon’s batsmen did not put a decent score for them. They had hopes on their bowling line-up but the Royals batsmen did not care about them a bit. They raised a storm with their bats and shored up a comprehensive nine-wicket victory.   

Chasing a paltry 135-run target, Liton Kumar Das and Hazratullah Zazai gave a brilliant start as they pulled together 62 for the opening stand before breaking the partnership. The wicketkeeper-batsman blasted 39. He cracked two sixes and four boundaries in his 27-ball knock before being caught by Ariful Islam off Mahedi Hasan.

Since then, Zazai and Malik carried out the momentum to the end without falling any wicket loss. Zazai, who is known for his flamboyant batting show what he showcased in the previous BPL for Dhaka Dynamites, notched up his fifty from 45 balls with three sixes and four fours.

The Afghan stroke-maker finished the proceedings in emphatic way when he clobbered Wahab Riaz for boundary through cover that ensured their thumping first victory in BPL campaign. Zazai finally smacked 56 off 47, blasting three sixes and five fours.

Shoaib Malik, who remained unbeaten on the other end, cracked an unbeaten run-a-ball 36 with three fours and a six.

Earlier, Rajshahi Royals captain Andre Russell invited his Dhaka Platoon counterpart Mashrafe Bin Mortaza to bat first after winning the flip of the match on Mirpur surface, where the Royals got their breakthrough in the initial second over.

Pacer Abu Jayed Rahi gave them the confidence-boosting leap forward when he sent back Tamim Iqbal, who has been going through a bad patch since ICC World Cup-2019. For coming back to his form, Tamim took a long break and worked intensely on batting but it didn’t work out on his way as he fell to Afif Hossain, who took the sharp catch in front of the circle to remove him when Tamim was on five.

English batsman Laurie Evans did not consolidate himself at wickets despite having got a good reprieve on one when Alok Kapali at slip missed to pouch the catch off Andre Russell. It is Kapali who later redeemed his mistake taking the catch of Laurie off Forhad Reza when he scored 13 that did not put any big impact on their total.

Together with Jakir Ali, Anamul Haque Bijoy tried to handle the intense pressure for the third-wicket stand. The duo was progressing towards the right way but Jakir Ali was pinned down an unfortunate run-out in the second delivery of the 12th over. With the dismissal of Jakir, Dhaka slipped to 83 for six from 78 for two at a glance.

Jakir Ali (21 off 19), Thesara Perera (one off three) and Anamul Haque Bijoy (38 off 33) walked back to the pavilion within the short span of time. Just a few minutes later, Ariful Haque followed their suits after scoring five runs from 11 ball when the Platoon were stuttering at 91 for seven.

At this stage, Dhaka were fallen to be all-out below hundred. In the meantime, Mehedi Hasan compounded the hiccups but the team’s total crossed the 100-run mark. Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and Wahab Riaz stitched together a 23-run partnership that gave the total some respectability. Wahab made 19 off 12 balls with the help of two fours and a maximum. Mashrafe’s 10-ball 18 laced with two towering sixes.      

Even though West Indies stalwart Andre Russell finally remained wicketless, he kept Platoon batsmen on a tight leash as he conceded only eight runs in his three overs. He gave away three runs in his third over following two runs in the second over and three runs in the opening ever of the proceedings.

Abu Jayed Rahi captured two wickets, giving away 43 runs for the winners. Taijul Islam, Alok Kapali, Forhad Reza and Ravi Bopara snared a wicket each.

 

Rajshahi begin with emphatic win

Zazai, Malik tear apart toothless Dhaka attack

Hazratullah Zazai (56 not out) and Shoaib Malik (36 not out) provided Rajshahi Royals a flying start when they thrashed star-studded Dhaka Platoon by a thumping nine wickets in their first match of the day two of the Akash-DTH Bangabandhu-Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur yesterday. Despite being formed a star-studded team by Tamim Iqbal, Thesara Perera, Shahid Afridi, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and Wahab Riaz, the Platoons batsmen did not put a decent score for them. They had hopes on their bowling line-up but the Royals batsmen did not care about them a bit. They raised a storm with their bats and shored up a comprehensive nine-wicket victory. Chasing a paltry 135-run target, Liton Kumar Das and Hazratullah Zazai gave a brilliant start as they pulled together 62 for the opening stand before breaking the partnership. The wicketkeeper-batsman blasted 39. He cracked two sixes and four boundaries in his 27-ball knock before being caught by Ariful Islam off Mahedi Hasan. Since then, Zazai and Malik carried out the momentum to the end without falling any wicket loss. Zazai, who is known for his flamboyant batting show what he showcased in the previous BPL for Dhaka Dynamites, notched up his fifty from 45 balls with three sixes and four fours. The Afghan stroke-maker finished the proceedings in emphatic way when he clobbered Wahab Riaz for boundary through cover that ensured their thumping first victory in BPL campaign. Zazai finally smacked 56 off 47, blasting three sixes and five fours. Shoaib Malik, who remained unbeaten on the other end, cracked an unbeaten run-a-ball 36 with three fours and a six. Earlier, Rajshahi Royals captain Andre Russell invited his Dhaka Platoon counterpart Mashrafe Bin Mortaza to bat first after winning the flip of the match on Mirpur surface, where the Royals got their breakthrough in the initial second over. Pacer Abu Jayed Rahi gave them the confidence-boosting leap forward when he sent back Tamim Iqbal, who has been going through a bad patch since ICC World Cup-2019. For coming back to his form, Tamim took a long break and worked intensely on batting but it didnt work out on his way as he fell to Afif Hossain, who took the sharp catch in front of the circle to remove him when Tamim was on five. English batsman Laurie Evans did not consolidate himself at wickets despite having got a good reprieve on one when Alok Kapali at slip missed to pouch the catch off Andre Russell. It is Kapali who later redeemed his mistake taking the catch of Laurie off Forhad Reza when he scored 13 that did not put any big impact on their total. Together with Jakir Ali, Anamul Haque Bijoy tried to handle the intense pressure for the third-wicket stand. The duo was progressing towards the right way but Jakir Ali was pinned down an unfortunate run-out in the second delivery of the 12th over. With the dismissal of Jakir, Dhaka slipped to 83 for six from 78 for two at a glance. Jakir Ali (21 off 19), Thesara Perera (one off three) and Anamul Haque Bijoy (38 off 33) walked back to the pavilion within the short span of time. Just a few minutes later, Ariful Haque followed their suits after scoring five runs from 11 ball when the Platoon were stuttering at 91 for seven. At this stage, Dhaka were fallen to be all-out below hundred. In the meantime, Mehedi Hasan compounded the hiccups but the teams total crossed the 100-run mark. Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and Wahab Riaz stitched together a 23-run partnership that gave the total some respectability. Wahab made 19 off 12 balls with the help of two fours and a maximum. Mashrafes 10-ball 18 laced with two towering sixes. Even though West Indies stalwart Andre Russell finally remained wicketless, he kept Platoon batsmen on a tight leash as he conceded only eight runs in his three overs. He gave away three runs in his third over following two runs in the second over and three runs in the opening ever of the proceedings. Abu Jayed Rahi captured two wickets, giving away 43 runs for the winners. Taijul Islam, Alok Kapali, Forhad Reza and Ravi Bopara snared a wicket each.