Vikings topple Riders in low scoring BPL opener
No batsman of either side could reach 50 mark
Sports Reporter, Dhaka
A low-scoring affair kick-started the sixth edition of Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), the countrys most glamorous tournament, but it ended up with a tight finish as Chittagong Vikings came out as winner, stunning reigning champions Rangpur Riders by three wickets yesterday at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
A short opening ceremony took place before Chittagong won the toss and opted to bowl first in a wicket, which upheld the traditional image of Mirpur wicketa slow and low pitch. This sort of wicket was a reason for public disturbance and raged the players in the past seasons as well as tarnished the image of the tournament to a great extent but still the character of the wicket hardly changed.
Chittagong Vikings fast bowler Robbie Frylinck starred in the match with four for 14 and hitting 12 not out with a lone four to the extra cover fence to ensure the teams victory, overcoming the nerve-wrecking situation.
Chittagong eventually overhauled Rangpurs paltry 98 in 20 overs, making 101 for seven in 19.1 overs.
Ravi Bopara, the English recruit of Rangpur was the highest scorer for the side with 47 ball-44, smacking three fours and one four while only other batsman Sohag Gazi with 21 runs could reach the double digit figure.
Despite the irksome nature of the wicket, Frylincks achievement shouldnt be ignored. He quickly understood the nature of the wicket and varied his pace astutely to unsettle the batsmen.
In his first and second over of the day, he dealt a double blow, removing dangerman Alex Hales and Mohammad Mithun, both for 0 with a sly slower delivery and then in next over got the better of Mehedi Maruf (1). In between Abu Jayed Rahi had Rillee Rossouw (7) caught behind by Mohammad Shahzad (7), leaving Rangpur 14 for four.
Bopara brought up all of his experience of playing BPL for each season, keeping one end intact with slow but effective batting but wickets were tumbling at the regular interval as off-spinner Nayeem Hasan joined Frylinck in the party.
Bopara got a support in Sohag Gazi and both looked set to take the side past 100. Frylinck however dismissed Gazi in the penultimate over while Rahi took the crucial wicket of Bopara in the last over to dismiss the hope.
Apart from Frylincks four for 14, Nayeem Hasan and Rahi snared two wickets, giving away 10 and 30 runs respectively.
In pursuit of small target, Chittagong also stumbled initially, being slumped to 19 for two after which opener Shahzad, the Afghanistan recruit and skipper Mushfiqur Rahim shared 32 runs for the third wicket, which was a significant stand in terms of match scenario.
Shahzad was dismissed for 27 off 23, which included three boundaries while Mushfiqur made 25 off 31 before being out as the seventh batsman.
After the dismissal of Mushfiqur, Chittagong were just 14 runs away of the victory and Frylinck did the rest. In his first competitive cricket after being elected an MP, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza scalped two for 24 but his effort was dashed by the batting failure.
