Dhaka Platoon ensured their play-off berth as third team when they crushed Rangpur Rangers by 61 runs in the crucial fifth-leg match of the ongoing Akash-DTH Bangabandhu-Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.
By winning the match, Dhaka guaranteed their play-off slot with two matches to spare. Rangpur Rangers, on the other hand, dashed their high hopes after losing the match although they have a match left. But if they win the last match, their points will be 10, which will not be enough to qualify for the play-off.
Off-spinner Mahedi Hasan jerked Rangpur top-order when they came to chase the paltry target of 146. Mahedi removed Mohamamd Naim Sheik and Captain Shane Watson in two successive deliveries of the innings’ first over. Cameron Delport tried to bring them out of the danger with Lewis Gregory and Fazle Mahmud Rabbi, but Faheem Ashraf and Hasan Mahmud compounded their batting woes getting rid of Delport and Rabbi.
Mashrafe Bin Mortaza sank them further with his double strikes when he was accountable for Gregory and Al Amin Junior while they were stuttering at 59-6.
Rangpur mislaid 3 wickets when they were on 77. Faheem Ashraf captured his second wicket when Mohammad Nabi was caught by Thisara Perera off Ashraf. Leg-spinner Shadab Khan trapped Arafat Sunny and Jahurul Islam. Mahadi Hasan finished Rangpur’s tail when he bowled Mustafizur Rahman that made them all out for a paltry 84. He snapped three wickets for the winners.
Earlier, Dhaka Platoon riding on Tamim Iqbal’s 40 collected a measly 145-9 against Rangpur Rangers.
Rangers Captain Shane Watson sent Platoon to bat first after winning the toss on Mirpur’s new pitch, where the Platoon fell into their initial batting trouble when they lost Anamul Haque Bijoy and Mahedi Hasan in the six-over powerplay. Lewis Gregory was accountable for Bijoy, who bashed for 11 and Mohammad Nabi bowled Mahedi Hasan, while they were stuttering at 41-2.
Tamim then tried to extend the total with Ariful Haque, but Ariful gave an easy catch to Gregory to hit Taskin Ahmed for a big shot. Ariful, who came to limelight with his BPL performance and played for the national team, failed to justify his mettle this time around. He made 13 off 12, hitting two boundaries.
Afghan all-rounder Nabi preyed Mominul to his second wicket when he clean-bowled him to dip them further. Fast bowler Taskin sank them into deep trouble with his double strikes when he got rid of well-set Tamim and Asif in two successive delivery of the third over, while Platoon were reeling at 90-6 from 78-4. Tamim smoked team-high 40 from 38 balls. Asif was bowled by Taskin.
Coming to the third over, pacer Mustafizur sent dangerman Thisara back before his devastation. The globe-trotting Sri Lanka all-rounder made 9-ball 10 with a boundary.
Shadab Khan partnered Faheem Ashraf and pulled together a useful 28 runs for the eight-wicket stand. He hit Taskin for two successive sixes, which were eventually the first sixes in their innings. He clubbed three sixes and a four in his unbeaten 19-ball 31 that finally gave the team total some respectability. Unlike Taskin, Mustafizur bagged his three-wicket haul that sent him atop the wicket-taking chart. His took 19 wickets, two more than Mehedi Hasan Rana, - dropped from Chattogram Challengers’ last match.