Rajshahi's hopes hung in the balance

Gazi Group Chattogram outplayed Minister Group Rajshahi, beating them by 36 runs in the 19th match of the ongoing Bangabandhu T20 Cup at Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on Saturday. This was Chattogram's seventh win in the tournament and they are firmly on top of the table. 
Soumya Sarkar and Liton Das starred with the bat for Chattogram, well supported by their bowlers. Off-spinner Nahidul set the tone in the powerplay for them, getting rid of Rajshahi's top order. 
Chasing 176, Najmul Hossain Shanto's men did not have a good start. They were restricted to 35 for three after six overs with Nahidul accounting for all three dismissals. Shanto, Anisul Islam Emon and Rony Talukdar went cheaply. 
The chase never got going as Rajshahi's middle over batsmen couldn't put their foot on the accelerator. Fazle Mahmud (19 off 20) and Nurul Hasan (28 off 28) were tied down by the Chattogram bowlers. Mahedi Hasan came out at number six and hit three sixes. But he was dismissed for 26 off 17 by Shoriful Islam in the 15th over. Since then, Rajshahi never looked like getting close to the total and in the end, fell short by 36 runs.
Nahidul picked up three wickets conceding only 19 runs in his four. All the bowlers chipped in with Ziaur Rahman taking two wickets and Rakibul Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman and Shoriful Islam got one each.
Put in to bat, Chattogram openers Liton Das and Soumya Sarkar continued their good form. They had a decent powerplay, scoring 48 without loss in the first six overs. These two picked up singles and doubles as well as scored boundaries to keep the scoreboard moving. Soumya notched up his second consecutive fifty in the 13th over. His partner Liton Das reached fifty in the very next over. 
They added 122 off 14.5 overs before Soumya Sarkar got out to Anisul Islam Emon. This was their fourth partnership in excess of 50 and first hundred-run partnership. Soumya Sarkar top-scored for Chattogram with 63 off 48 deliveries, with the help of three fours and four sixes.
Liton Das too departed soon in the 16th over, scoring a well-made 56 off 43 balls. The score was 126 for two then.
They had a sedate period after Liton's dismissal as they added only 12 in the next 2.3 overs and lost the wickets of Mohammad Mithun and Mosaddek Hossain in the process.
Rezaur Rahman came in to bowl the penultimate over. He was taken out of the attack after he had bowled two beamers. Both of them went for six. Later, Anisul Islam Emon completed the over. Chattogram took 24 runs off the 19th over and 13 off the 20th to deliver a strong finish. Shamsur Rahman remained unbeaten on 30 off 18 balls.
Anisul Islam Emon was impressive with the ball, picking up two wickets. He conceded only 21 in 3.3 overs. Mohammad Saifuddin and Rezaur Rahman took one each.
Nahidul Islam was named player of the match for his stellar bowling performance. 
 

Brief scores: Gazi Group Chattogram 175/4 (Soumya Sarkar 63, Liton Das 55, Shamsur Rahman 30*, Anisul Islam Emon 2/21, Mohammad Saifuddin 1/32, Rezaur Rahman 1/38)
Minister Group Rajshahi 139/8 (Nurul Hasan 28, Mahedi Hasan 26, Fazle Mahmud 19, Nahidul Islam 3/19, Ziaur Rahman 2/17, Mustafizur Rahman 1/23)

Result: Gazi Group Chattogram won by 36 runs.