Barisal keep hopes alive in BPL

Barisal Bulls made the BPL-4 wide-open, thanks to their opener Dawid Malan’s superb 33-ball 56 knock as his side outplayed Rajshahi Kings by 17 runs at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in the capital yesterday. Bulls’ fourth victory in the tournament kept them in the hunt for the top four race alongside Comilla Victorians, Rangpur Riders and Rajshahi Kings. Malan’s whirlwind batting helped the side post a respectable 161 for four after which the bowlers bowled in nagging line and length to restrict Rajshahi Kings to 144 for seven.  Malan’s knock, studded with six fours and three towering sixes, was complemented by Fazle Rabbi’s run-a-ball 43 as the duo combined for a 100 off 71 for the second wicket.
They resurrected the innings after opener Jeevan Mendis fell for six, leaving the side seven for one. They hit the bowlers to all corners of the park to indicate a bigger total but the blue came out of nothing.
Malan’s casual approach caused his run out as he didn’t make any attempt to slid the bat when Nazmul Islam Opu made a direct hit from the point.
Three balls later Fazle Rabbi who struck four fours and two sixes in his innings gave away his wicket to help Rajshahi claw back into the game.
Rajshahi bowlers, however, stemmed the run flow at this stage by bowling well but Thisara Perera stood tall and didn’t let the good work of Malan and Rabbi to go wasted.
He hit an unbeaten 29 off 22 with four fours to help the side propel past 160 which looked tougher after the dismissal of Malan.
Mohammad Sami, Mehedi Hasan Miraj and Farhad Reza picked up one wicket apiece for Rajshahi.
Mominul Haque and Nurul Hasan Sohan made a boundary-filled start but they couldn’t sustain longer as Monir Hossain trapped the latter lbw to spark the collapse.
Sabbir Rahman continued his poor form being dismissed for eight after which Enamul Haque and Thisara Perera took out Mominul Haque for 15 and Roqibul Hasan for nine to leave Kings 68 for four.
Samit Patel and James Franklin stabbed off the Bulls’ charge to revive the innings and at one point they took the control of the match.
Kamrul Islam Rabbi dismissed Franklin after run-a-ball 18 to bring an end to the 44 runs partnership. Considering the scenario it was a crucial breakthrough but nicely set Samit Patel gave them a glimmer of hope with 49 requiring off 20 balls.
With big hitter Darren Sammy in the crease alongside him, Kings could hope for the best but Rayad Emrit shattered the hope completely by taking out Patel who smacked 62 off 51 with seven fours and one six.
Sammy, however, couldn’t make it single handedly afterwards as Rajshahi left their chances of keeping the top four races at stake. Emrit claimed three for 27 for the Bulls.

Barisal keep hopes alive in BPL

Barisal Bulls made the BPL-4 wide-open, thanks to their opener Dawid Malans superb 33-ball 56 knock as his side outplayed Rajshahi Kings by 17 runs at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in the capital yesterday. Bulls fourth victory in the tournament kept them in the hunt for the top four race alongside Comilla Victorians, Rangpur Riders and Rajshahi Kings. Malans whirlwind batting helped the side post a respectable 161 for four after which the bowlers bowled in nagging line and length to restrict Rajshahi Kings to 144 for seven. Malans knock, studded with six fours and three towering sixes, was complemented by Fazle Rabbis run-a-ball 43 as the duo combined for a 100 off 71 for the second wicket. They resurrected the innings after opener Jeevan Mendis fell for six, leaving the side seven for one. They hit the bowlers to all corners of the park to indicate a bigger total but the blue came out of nothing. Malans casual approach caused his run out as he didnt make any attempt to slid the bat when Nazmul Islam Opu made a direct hit from the point. Three balls later Fazle Rabbi who struck four fours and two sixes in his innings gave away his wicket to help Rajshahi claw back into the game. Rajshahi bowlers, however, stemmed the run flow at this stage by bowling well but Thisara Perera stood tall and didnt let the good work of Malan and Rabbi to go wasted. He hit an unbeaten 29 off 22 with four fours to help the side propel past 160 which looked tougher after the dismissal of Malan. Mohammad Sami, Mehedi Hasan Miraj and Farhad Reza picked up one wicket apiece for Rajshahi. Mominul Haque and Nurul Hasan Sohan made a boundary-filled start but they couldnt sustain longer as Monir Hossain trapped the latter lbw to spark the collapse. Sabbir Rahman continued his poor form being dismissed for eight after which Enamul Haque and Thisara Perera took out Mominul Haque for 15 and Roqibul Hasan for nine to leave Kings 68 for four. Samit Patel and James Franklin stabbed off the Bulls charge to revive the innings and at one point they took the control of the match. Kamrul Islam Rabbi dismissed Franklin after run-a-ball 18 to bring an end to the 44 runs partnership. Considering the scenario it was a crucial breakthrough but nicely set Samit Patel gave them a glimmer of hope with 49 requiring off 20 balls. With big hitter Darren Sammy in the crease alongside him, Kings could hope for the best but Rayad Emrit shattered the hope completely by taking out Patel who smacked 62 off 51 with seven fours and one six. Sammy, however, couldnt make it single handedly afterwards as Rajshahi left their chances of keeping the top four races at stake. Emrit claimed three for 27 for the Bulls.