Afghan recruit Azmatullah Omarzai and Pakistani legend Babar Azam shone for Rangpur Riders sans Shakib Al Hasan as they secured a four-wicket victory over Sylhet Strikers in Tuesdays Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) match at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur.
Rangpur Riders won the toss and elected to field, inviting Sylhet Strikers to bat first. Strikers faced an early setback losing five wickets and managing only 39 runs. Openers Mohammad Mithun and Nazmul Hossain Shanto were dismissed for five and 14 runs respectively. Skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, batting at three, was run out after playing an over boundary shot. Yasir Ali Rabbi and Zakir Hasan also departed scoring nine and one run respectively. Englishman Benny Howell and Australian all-rounder Ben Cutting contributed 37 runs each guiding Sylhet Strikers to a total of 120 runs for eight wickets in their allotted 20 overs.
Sheikh Mahedi and Ripon Mandol claimed two wickets apiece for Riders while Mohammad Nabi and Hasan Murad took one wicket each.
In pursuit of the modest target of 121 runs, Rangpur Riders faced a perilous situation losing six wickets for only 39 runs.
Sylhet Strikers therefore, harbored hopes of winning the low-scoring match. However, Pakistani recruit Babar and Afghan all-rounder Omarzai dashed Strikers hopes with an unbeaten 89-run 7th wicket partnership. Babar remained unbeaten with 56 off 49 balls while Omarzai scored 47 not out off 35 balls. Rangpur Riders reached 125 for six with 10 balls to spare.
Dushan Hemantha claimed three wickets for Strikers, including an over hat-trick while Richard Ngarava, Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Nazmul Islam Apu shared the remaining wickets.
Azmatullah Omarzai of Rangpur was named the Player of the Match for his outstanding performance with the bat.
