Right then, that is all we have from this game. Rangpur Riders have moved to the second spot with this win and they will be playing again on Friday, 10th of February where they will take on Comilla Victorians. That game will start at 1.30 pm IST (8 am GMT). The second game on 10th of February will be between Fortune Barishal and Khulna Tigers. It will start at 6.30 pm IST (1 pm GMT). Do join us for the build-up of both the games. Cheers!
Nurul Hasan, the victorious skipper is in for a chat. He starts by saying that the boys played really well and they are looking forward to the upcoming fixtures. Mentions it is their bowlers who set the tone for them. Adds they are trying to play good as a team and is really proud of his squad. Informs the next game is very important for them to stay in the hunt for the top two position.
Haris Rauf is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH. He says that they are happy about the win. Tells that they bowled on hard lengths and adds that in Bangladesh, hard length bowling works. Tells that they had a chat before the game about how to bowl and says that they assessed the wicket after some balls and then bowled accordingly.
Ziaur Rahman, the captain of Chattogram Challengers is in for a chat. Starts by saying it was really difficult to defend a low target. Informs that Tawfique Khan did really well and he himself tried to add some valuable runs for the side. Adds that the pressure was on the bowlers from the get go as they did not have much to defend.
Time for the Presentation.
Chattogram Challengers, well, they have struggled with the bat throughout this season and they were poor again in that department in this game. They just about managed to cross 130 with skipper Ziaur Rahman and other lower order batters chipping in with some runs. It was never going to be enough and despite a good bowling performance by Mohammad Nihaduzzaman, they just were never in this game as Rangpur Riders blazed their way to a victory here.
Rangpur Riders were asked to bowl first by Challengers in a hope to put pressure on Riders by putting a big score on the board. However, Nurul Hasan and his boys were equal to the task and managed to take regular wickets to restrict Challengers to a below-par total. It was a combined bowling effort from the Riders and then with the bat they came out all guns blazing again. Naim and Talukdar got them off to a flier with handy cameos and then Gurbaz smashed 46 off 30 balls which made sure that Riders were never in any sort of pressure. In the end, Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Nurul Hasan finished the chase off with 24 balls to spare with some finesse and power.
Rangpur Riders continue to ride on a fast lane as they have notched up their sixth win in a row and it is another dominating win. They are also in a great position to finish in top 2 with this big win here and are playing some high quality aggressive cricket here. Chattogram Challengers, on the other hand, just could not challenge Riders here and they would be hoping to comeback stronger in the next edition.
In over# 16
4
0
0
6
2
1
Mehedi Hasan Rana 32/0(3)
15.6
4
FOUR! Here are the winning runs. Deft touch this time by Tom Kohler-Cadmore to get his side over the victory line. It is a back-of-a-length delivery, on off. Tom Kohler-Cadmore does wait for it, opens the face and steers it past the keeper and it races away to the fence. Rangpur Riders win the game by 7 wickets.
15.5
.
This is a bit short, outside off. TKC looks to smack it away but misses.
15.4
.
Slower one, length and on off. Tom Kohler-Cadmore can only help it back to the bowler.
15.3
6
SIX! This time he connects well and sends it into the stands. It is full, on leg. Tom Kohler-Cadmore clears his front leg and smokes it over the bowler's head for a biggie.
15.2
2
Goes full and on off. Tom Kohler-Cadmore gets it off the toe-end. It goes way over mid off. Ziaur Rahman gives it a chase but it lands safely. Two taken.
15.1
1
Nurul Hasan gets this length ball to mid-wicket off the inner half. One taken.
In over# 15
2
0
0
0
1
0
Mrittunjoy Chowdhury 25/0(3)
14.6
2
Tom Kohler-Cadmore uses the depth of his crease to guide this length ball down to deep point. They take two runs. Two big hits away from the win Rangpur Riders now.
14.5
.
A length ball, on off. Tom Kohler-Cadmore helps it to the off side.
14.4
.
Goes full, outside off. Driven straight to mid off.