BPL 2015 Match Four: Barisal Bulls Vs Rangpur Riders played at SBNCS on 23 November 2015
Barisal Bulls 155/9 (Mahmudullah Riyad 51, Nadif Chowdhury 30, KK Copper 21, Shakib Al Hasan 3/23, and Thisara Perrera 3/29) beat Rangpur Riders 142 All Out (Mohammad Mithun 55, KK Cooper 5/15, and Mohammad Sami 2/35) by 13 runs
Spirited bullish boys of the south Barisal could pip to the post the horse riders from the north Rangpur with a stunning display of character with never say die attitude. It was unbelievable turn around for Barisal Bulls winning a low scoring derby by 13 runs.
Reduced to 4/15 by the fourth over they showed excellent character rallying around and posting a par score of 155/9. Then they resolutely defended winning the match creditably. Shell shocked Riders could only blame themselves for not pulling out back to back victories. They failed to press on early advantage and stave off stiff Bulls resistance while batting. For the second day in succession batting under light appeared a much more difficult task. While the first matches had runs feast the second matches were low scoring.
Shakib put Bulls to bat after being lucky with the coins. His team with him as the spearhead pushed Bulls back to the wall striking deadly early blows. Rony Talukdar, Shariar Nafees and Brendon Taylor were removed within the wink of an eye. Taylor though got a rough deal from the umpire. TV replays showed that his caught behind was a bit of a diabolical decision.
Coming in to bat with team stuttering at 3/4 in the third over, talented Sabbir Rahman could keep his cool. Instead, he wanted to blast his way out and lost his wicket in the process deepening the crisis further. Pererra was breathing fire at that stage, Shakib was curling his balls like a coiling cobra. Bulls were held by the horns at 4/15 by the fourth over.
Ice cool Mahmudullah steadied the nerve and together with Nadif Chowdhury steered the team out of troubled water. The pair absorbed the early reverse and then set the foundation with 82 priceless runs in their partnership. Scoreboard at 5/97 looked much better than when they set about at 4/15. From this launching pad Kevin Cooper and Mohammad Sami struck some deadly blows setting a much better looking target of 156 for winning to Riders. Mahmudullah scored a solid 51, Nadif scored 30. Shakib and Perera each got three wickets giving away 23 and 29 runs respectably.
Chasing 156 with star studded batting of Riders was not a huge issue. Blasting the way was not essential. Riders tried to make galloping start. Talented Soumya Sarkar has lot of aggressive strokes in his repertoire and his execution is alright. But he has to exercise restrain as well when maturing. This match could be different if he could restrain himself a bit. His 7 balls 17 could easily extend to a match winning contribution. Riders were not in a big hurry. He lost his cool and lost his wicket. Shakib for the second match in succession failed with the bat. Pakistani speedster of not too distant past and Caribbean pacer Kevin Cooper created panic among the riders. None among Simmons, Misbah, Perera and Sammy could provide required support to lone warrior Wicket Keeper batsman Mohammad Mithun in challenging the bulls target. Kevin bowled devastating spells grabbing 5/15. Him removing Misbah and Sammy changed the course of the match. Mithun could play a solid innings of 55 off 32 deliveries but big guns failing to contribute put paid to Riders racing to second consecutive win. The margin of 13 may not look big but Barisal deserves great credit for revival from ruins initially and defending the par score against a formidable batting unit. For his brilliant all round performance Kevin Copper won the player of the match.
Barishal looks a balanced unit with several impact players local and foreign. Chris Gayle is expected to join them at some stage. They will be a strong challenger if they can sort out their top order batting.
Rangpur Riders took its feet off the pedal after making initial inroads and let the initiative loose a bit. Then they batted poorly in not getting across a not too difficult target. Captain Shakib needs to bat with responsibility. Misbah and Sammy cannot rescue every day. Team has to ball and bat consistently well. In T20 matches one over changes the complexion.
It was great watching four different teams winning a match each in four matches played so far. The tournament is on a roll. But several peripheral issues must be looked into. Umpiring standard remains poor which match referee must address.
BDST: 0827 HRS, NOV 24, 2015
SR
