Rajshahi blow Sylhet away

Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) T20 2019 gifted another one-sided match as Rajshahi Royals beat Sylhet Thunder comfortably by eight wickets. 

Batting first, Sylhet managed to accumulate only 91, courtesy of some good bowling and tight fielding from Rajshahi. In reply, Rajshahi lost a wicket early but did not budge as Afif Hossain and Liton Das steadied the ship for them. Later on, Shoaib Malik and Liton ensured their second straight victory of the tournament. 

First innings 

Rajshahi Royals skipper Andre Russell won the toss and invited Mosaddek Hossain-led Sylhet Thunder to have a bat first. 

Rony Talukder and Johnson Charles gave Sylhet a good start as they added 35 runs in the opening stand before Rajshahi skipper Russell struck to send Rony back on 19. 

And then what it looked like was a domino effect as the batsmen went from the dressing to the crease and back and forth. 

Charles and Jeevan Mendis both were sent back by Alok Kapali in consecutive deliveries, the first being bold and the second being caught. 

Skipper Mosaddek and Mohammad Mithun, who was brilliant in the last match, put together a 31-run stand to help matters but as soon as Mithun was sent back by Ravi Bopara, it all fell apart. The side went from 72-3 from 91 all out in the span of only 33 deliveries, with none of the last five batsmen reaching double figures. 

Mosaddek was caught by Liton off Bopara for 20, and Nazmul Hossain Milon followed when Russell took a brilliant catch off Farhad Reza. Reza struck again in the same over to send Nayeem Hasan back, and a run out in the next delivery ensured that Krishmar Santokie was sent back too. Nazmul Islam was caught trying to clear the boundary and a stunning direct hit from Bopara ensured that Sylhet were bundled out for 91. 

Mosaddek and Mithun top-scored with 20 each, whereas Kapali picked up three wickets with Ravi Bopara and Farhad Reza picking up two.

Second innings 

Rajshahi were in trouble chasing as they lost opener Hazratullah Zazai in the third delivery of the innings to Nayeem Hasan. Zazai tried to whack Nayeem out of the ground but only managed to miss the ball which crashed onto his stumps. 

But soon after, Liton Das and Afif Hossain started to display their batting prowess as the runs came in flowing. These two displayed an array of brilliant shots to ensure that Rajshahi were on their way to an easy run chase. 

Their partnership broke when Afif Hossain was caught by Mosaddek off Naveen-ul-Haq on 30, ending the 62-run stand. 

But Liton and Shoaib Malik ensured that Rajshahi reached the target unscathed with 55 deliveries and eight wickets to spare. 

Liton was unbeaten on 44 with Malik staying unbeaten on 16.