Rajshahi one shot away from final

Sammy’s captain’s knock shatters Ctg hopes

Rajshahi Kings captain Darren Sammy smashed a marauding 27 ball-55 to eliminate Chittagong Vikings and propelled his side one shot away from the BPL-4 final.

Sammy’s captain’s knock was the key in steering Rajshahi Kings from a precarious 57 for six to seal his side’s three-wicket victory over Chittagong Vikings in the Eliminator game yesterday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
Rajshahi Kings now will take on the looser of the Qualifier-1 game between Dhaka Dynamites and Khulna Titans today at Qualifier-2 game at the same venue.
Chittagong placed them in favourable position of winning the game by reducing Rajshahi to 57 for six in 11 overs despite amassing a mediocre 142 for eight. Sammy came out all guns blazing in the crucial moment to script one of the famous comeback in the BPL tournament as his side got over the line with nine balls to spare.
He shared two significant partnerships on the way to the tremendous victory, by adding 37 with Mehedi Hasan Miraj which stabbed off the Rajshahi’s continuous downfall and then an undefeated 49-run with Farhad Reza to sail the side home.
In both partnership, Sammy dominated like a boss and played his trademark hook, cut and pull shot to shift the momentum towards them.
With the side reeling to 57 for six and the asking run rate was sky high, he chose to unleash a powerful shot from his repertoire in a bid to give his side the best chance to win the game. In fact only counterattack was the solution to steer the side to the victory and Sammy didn’t hesitate.
He smashed Mohammad Nabi consecutive three boundaries right after coming the crease. That gave him the necessary momentum which Kings never lost. Sammy’s aggressive batting changed the complexion of the game and made Chittagong hapless gradually.
He hit seven fours and two sixes in the knock and remained unbeaten. Mehedi Hasan Miraj made run-a-ball-10 while Farhad Reza who played the winning shot remained not out on 19 off 11.
In a bid to defend the small total, Chittagong bowlers bowled well in tandem right from the start, even though opener Nurul Hasan Sohan played some good shots around the wicket to tick the scoreboard. Sohan scored 34 off 28.
Abdur Razzak and Shuvashis Roy were rewarded for their good spell with the wicket of Mominul Haque and Afif Hossain. Roy also took the wicket of Sabbir for 11 to leave Rajshahi 39 for three.
Mohammad Nabi and Saqlain Sajib then made Rajshahi 57 for six, taking three batsmen in two overs and made the side overwhelmingly favourite. But Sammy chose the day to show his big hitting skill to leave Chittagong frustrated at the end.
But they have to blame themselves. Despite losing Dwayne Smith for naught, Chittagong was in the track of big score when Tamim Iqbal and Chris Gayle were batting effortlessly.
Tamim continued his rich vein of from while Gayle, as he was known for, showered sixes all around the park.
They combined for a 74 off 50, before Franklin got the prized scalp of Gayle as he hammered 44 off 30 with two fours and five sixes. Tamim was there and picked up his sixth half-century in his 13th match of the tournament to become not only the highest run getter of this edition but also crossed 1000 runs in BPL history as the third batsmen after Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah Riyad.
After helping the side to 100 runs in 14th over and completed his sixth half-century, he was undone by a slower of Kesrick Williams. He hit six fours in his 46 ball-51. That 51 took his this tally in this edition 476, just 10 runs shy of Ahmed Shehzad’s 486 which he did in 2012 edition and still remains highest scorer in a single season.
Chittagong was 116 for four in 16 overs at the moment and with the batsmen like Anamul Haque Bijoy and Mohammad Nabi were there, they were expected to score at least 160. But Chittagong started losing wickets at cluster as Rajshahi bowlers bowled with good line and length. They could make just 26 runs in the last four overs which actually made the difference.
Kesrick Williams bowled superbly to claim his career best four for just 11 runs in four overs. Farhad Reza snapped up two for 26.

Rajshahi one shot away from final

Sammys captains knock shatters Ctg hopes

Rajshahi Kings captain Darren Sammy smashed a marauding 27 ball-55 to eliminate Chittagong Vikings and propelled his side one shot away from the BPL-4 final. Sammys captains knock was the key in steering Rajshahi Kings from a precarious 57 for six to seal his sides three-wicket victory over Chittagong Vikings in the Eliminator game yesterday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. Rajshahi Kings now will take on the looser of the Qualifier-1 game between Dhaka Dynamites and Khulna Titans today at Qualifier-2 game at the same venue. Chittagong placed them in favourable position of winning the game by reducing Rajshahi to 57 for six in 11 overs despite amassing a mediocre 142 for eight. Sammy came out all guns blazing in the crucial moment to script one of the famous comeback in the BPL tournament as his side got over the line with nine balls to spare. He shared two significant partnerships on the way to the tremendous victory, by adding 37 with Mehedi Hasan Miraj which stabbed off the Rajshahis continuous downfall and then an undefeated 49-run with Farhad Reza to sail the side home. In both partnership, Sammy dominated like a boss and played his trademark hook, cut and pull shot to shift the momentum towards them. With the side reeling to 57 for six and the asking run rate was sky high, he chose to unleash a powerful shot from his repertoire in a bid to give his side the best chance to win the game. In fact only counterattack was the solution to steer the side to the victory and Sammy didnt hesitate. He smashed Mohammad Nabi consecutive three boundaries right after coming the crease. That gave him the necessary momentum which Kings never lost. Sammys aggressive batting changed the complexion of the game and made Chittagong hapless gradually. He hit seven fours and two sixes in the knock and remained unbeaten. Mehedi Hasan Miraj made run-a-ball-10 while Farhad Reza who played the winning shot remained not out on 19 off 11. In a bid to defend the small total, Chittagong bowlers bowled well in tandem right from the start, even though opener Nurul Hasan Sohan played some good shots around the wicket to tick the scoreboard. Sohan scored 34 off 28. Abdur Razzak and Shuvashis Roy were rewarded for their good spell with the wicket of Mominul Haque and Afif Hossain. Roy also took the wicket of Sabbir for 11 to leave Rajshahi 39 for three. Mohammad Nabi and Saqlain Sajib then made Rajshahi 57 for six, taking three batsmen in two overs and made the side overwhelmingly favourite. But Sammy chose the day to show his big hitting skill to leave Chittagong frustrated at the end. But they have to blame themselves. Despite losing Dwayne Smith for naught, Chittagong was in the track of big score when Tamim Iqbal and Chris Gayle were batting effortlessly. Tamim continued his rich vein of from while Gayle, as he was known for, showered sixes all around the park. They combined for a 74 off 50, before Franklin got the prized scalp of Gayle as he hammered 44 off 30 with two fours and five sixes. Tamim was there and picked up his sixth half-century in his 13th match of the tournament to become not only the highest run getter of this edition but also crossed 1000 runs in BPL history as the third batsmen after Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah Riyad. After helping the side to 100 runs in 14th over and completed his sixth half-century, he was undone by a slower of Kesrick Williams. He hit six fours in his 46 ball-51. That 51 took his this tally in this edition 476, just 10 runs shy of Ahmed Shehzads 486 which he did in 2012 edition and still remains highest scorer in a single season. Chittagong was 116 for four in 16 overs at the moment and with the batsmen like Anamul Haque Bijoy and Mohammad Nabi were there, they were expected to score at least 160. But Chittagong started losing wickets at cluster as Rajshahi bowlers bowled with good line and length. They could make just 26 runs in the last four overs which actually made the difference. Kesrick Williams bowled superbly to claim his career best four for just 11 runs in four overs. Farhad Reza snapped up two for 26.