In a dominant display at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, the Rangpur Riders demolished the Chattogram Challengers by 53 runs in a Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) encounter on Saturday.
An explosive batting performance, driven by half-centuries from Reeza Hendricks and James Neesham, propelled Rangpur to an imposing total of 211/3, the first 200-plus total by any team, in their 20 overs. It was the debut match for Neesham in the BPL.
The Challengers’ chase faltered from the outset as Josh Brown fell cheaply to Shakib Al Hasan. Shykat Ali hit a half-century, though a bit slowly, but wickets tumbled around him.
A late flurry from Shuvagata Hom (31*) provided scant consolation for Chattogram. Shakib (2/24) and the irrepressible James Neesham (2/32) starred with the ball for Rangpur, smothering any chances of a comeback.
Neesham’s all-around brilliance was pivotal. His blistering unbeaten 51 included two fours and an astounding five sixes, injecting crucial momentum into the Riders innings. Before him, Reeza Hendricks set a solid foundation with 58, while Shakib chipped in with an important 27.
Salauddin Sakil proved Chattogram’s most economical bowler, claiming the wickets of Shakib and Hendricks.
The Challengers simply never recovered from their early losses, even with Shykat’s defiant knock. Ultimately, the target proved insurmountable, and the Riders cruised to a comfortable victory.
This win has cemented Ranpgur’s place at the top of the points table. They have now amassed 12 points from six wins in eight matches. In contrast, Chattogram is still among the top three teams. They have 10 points from five wins in eight matches.
Ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan reached a rare double of 7000 runs and 400 wickets in T20 cricket during Rangpur Riders’ fifth consecutive victory in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2024.
Shakib was behind Rangpur’s post-powerplay surge as he added 60 off just 5.2 overs with South African top-order batter Reeza Hendricks. The left-handed batter needed eight runs on Saturday to complete 7000 runs in the shortest format of the game.
The all-rounder has been struggling from a retinal condition of the left eye which forced him to drop down to the lower order for a few games.
But according to Rangpur skipper Nurul Hasan, Shakib told the management that he would bat at number three and later made a pretty good contribution of 34 off 20.
Although he wanted to spend some more time in the middle, Shakib’s confident 16-ball stay on Saturday will give him a lot of confidence going into the business end of the BPL.
Against Chattogram, Shakib became only the second cricketer after West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell to achieve the double. Shakib is also the second Bangladeshi cricketer to have 7000 T20 runs. Tamim Iqbal is the first person to achieve that milestone.
A canny left-arm spinner, Shakib has 476 T20 wickets in 421 matches at an economy rate of just 6.76. Shakib is the fourth-highest wicket-taking spinner in the format.
Shakib’s teammate at Rangpur Imran Tahir, who also reached Bangladesh Saturday morning, picked up his 497th T20 wicket and is closing in on 500 T20 wickets.
