Rangpur off the mark with easy 6 wicket win over Chattogram
Chattgram batted first after losing the toss and posted 163/7; Rangpur reached their target with eight balls to spare.
Rangpur Rangers beat Chattogram Challengers by six wickets to register their first win in the ongoing Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram on Saturday.
Before this win, Rangers played four matches and lost all of them. Challengers, on the other hand, won five of their seven games which they have played in the league so far.
Replying to Challengers' 163, Rangers lost both of their openers in just 19 runs.
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They were in deep trouble for losing early wickets. Mohammad Naim, who scored 49 in the previous game, scored only four this time. South African Cameron Delport also managed only four runs while chasing a challenging score.
Before posting 100 runs, Rangers lost four wickets. After Naim and Delport, Tom Abell and Shadman Islam contributed scoring 24 and 16 respectively.
However, in the fifth wicket stand, Lewis Gregory and Fazle Rabbi made an unbeaten 91-run stand which led the Rangers to their maiden win.
Lewis remained unbeaten hitting 76 off 37 balls with six fours and five sixes while Rabbi also remained unbeaten scoring 38 off 21 deliveries with four fours and two sixes. Rangers ended on 167 for four in 18.4 overs.
Rubel Hossain bagged two wickets for Challengers while Mehedi Hasan Rana and Liam Plunkett took one wicket each.
Earlier, Rangers won the toss and sent Challengers to bat first. They put up 163 runs for seven in 20 overs.
Mustafizur Rahman removed Challengers' West Indian opener, Lindle Simmons, for a duck in the first over. But Avishka Fernando led the batting line hitting 72 off 40 balls with eight fours and four sixes.
Imrul Kayes, who has been leading the Challengers in the absence of injured Mahmudullah Riyad, scored 10 this time around. He had hit a fifty in the previous game.
Apart from them, Chadwick Walton (16), Nurul Hasan Sohan (20), Muktar Ali (12) and Liam Plunkett (17) contributed with the bat.
Mustafizur and Lewis took two wickets each while Mukidul Islam, Mohammad Nabi and Sanjit Saha bagged one wicket each.
Rangers will take on Khulna Tigers in their next game on December 27 at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium while Challenges will face Dhaka Platoon at the same venue on the same day.
