Explosive Russell powers Dynamites to final

Published at 05:07 pm February 6th, 2019

Dhaka Dynamites all-rounder Andre Russell plays a shot against Rangpur Riders during their BPL T20 qualifier 2 in Mirpur Dhaka Tribune/Md Manik

Dhaka looked in a spot of bother at 97/5 after 11 overs but fireworks from Andre Russell ensured the Dynamites chased down the remaining runs with 20 deliveries to spare

An all-round performance from Andre Russell helped Dhaka Dynamites defeat Rangpur Riders by five wickets and setup a final with Comilla Victorians after their second eliminator match at Mirpur's Sher-e-Bangla national cricket stadium on Wednesday.

After winning the toss, Dhaka captain Shakib al Hasan chose to bowl first and that paid dividends as Dhaka held Rangpur to a below-par score of 142 all-out in 19.4 overs.

Ravi Bopara was the top scorer with 49 runs while Rubel Hossain (4/23), Qazi Onik (2/21) Andre Russell (2/31) were the pick of the bowlers.

Playing XI of Dhaka Dynamites and Rangpur Riders #RRvDD

Watch BPL LIVE on GTV & Rabbithole App!#BPL #BPLseason6 pic.twitter.com/eWFImoDFGY
— BPLT20 (@Official_BPLT20) February 6, 2019

In reply, Dhaka looked in a spot of bother at 97/5 after 11 overs but fireworks from Andre Russell ensured the Dynamites chased down the remaining runs with 20 deliveries to spare.

Rubel Hossain was man-of-the-match for his excellent bowling performance.

Player of the match - Rubel Hossain #DDvRR #BPL #BPLseason6 pic.twitter.com/GpguXC0C9L
— BPLT20 (@Official_BPLT20) February 6, 2019

Nadif’s three consecutive sixes

Rangpur picked Nadif Chowdhury in the playing eleven against Dhaka in the second qualifier and dropped opener Mehedi Maruf. It was first match for Nadif in this season and surprisingly he went to open the batting with Chris Gayle for the Riders. The opening stand was impressive for the Riders as these two scored 42 in just 2.5 overs before Nadif lost his wicket. Nadif smashed three back-to-back sixes in the fourth over against off-spinner Shuvagata Hom in second third and fourth ball. The right-hander tried to hit another six in the last ball but this time he got caught at deep-midwicket.

Rubel removes Gayle and Rossouw in back to back deliveries

Just after the wicket of Nadif Chowdhury in the last ball of fourth over, Dhaka pacer Rubel Hossian got the wickets of Gayle and perhaps the most important wicket, in-form Rilee Rossouw in back-to-back deliveries in the start of the fifth over. In the first ball of the over, Gayle chased down a wide delivery and managed a nick while in the second ball of the over Rossouw tried to pull and only managed a top edge, which was well caught by Kireon Pollard. That was a major blow for Rangpur and a terrific display of fast bowling by pacer Rubel.

Shakib gone bowled

Dhaka were chasing their target well despite losing Upul Tharanga’s wicket early. Other opener Sunil Narine and number three Rony Talukder scored quickly to control the asking run rate. After Narine’s wicket, captain Shakib came to party and scored 23 off 19 balls with two fours and one six. But medium pacer Benny Howell castled Shakib in the fifth ball of ninth over and gave Rangpur some hope. It was a poor shot from the Dhaka captain, especially after hitting one six and a four in the same over. After seven balls, Dhaka also lost Kieron Pollard and Rangpur back in the game.

Mashrafe drops Russell’s catch

Dhaka lost Pollard’s wicket in the 11th over, bowled by Rangpur captain Mashrafe. In that same over well-set Rony Talukder was also run out due to a mix-up with Nurul Hasan Sohan. In the second ball of 13th over, captain Mashrafe dropped Andre Russell’s catch. Mashrafe was fielding at cover and the ball was at a comfortable height. But somehow, the Rangpur skipper failed to catch it and it was a costly error. It was perhaps the last chance for Rangpur to stage a memorable comeback as at that point 42 runs were needed from 45 balls. If that catch had been taken, Dhaka would have been six wickets down. Russell was on 3 when his catch was dropped and he eventually remained unbeaten till the end scoring 40 off 19 balls with five sixes to seal the match for Dhaka.

BPL standing

Rangpur, last year’s champions, have eliminated while Dhaka have now qualified for the final where they will face Comilla Victorians on Friday.

Dhaka Dynamites won by 5 wickets against Rangpur Riders #DDvRR #BPL #BPLseason6 pic.twitter.com/tPs5v4aLn7
— BPLT20 (@Official_BPLT20) February 6, 2019

Rangpur Riders INNINGS R B

Gayle c Nurul b Rubel 15 13

Nadif c Pollard b Shuvagata 27 12

Mithun c Nurul b Onik 38 27

Rossouw c Pollard b Rubel 0 1

Bopara c Pollard b Rubel 49 43

Howell lbw b Shakib 3 8

Mashrafe c Russell b Onik 0 3

Nahidul b Rubel 4 5

Farhad c & b Russell 2 4

Shafiul c Nurul b Russell 0 2

Nazmul not out 0 0

Extras (lb 2, w 2) 4

TOTAL (All Out, 19.4 Overs) 142

Fall of wickets: 1-42 (Nadif, 3.6 ov), 2-42 (Gayle, 4.1 ov), 3-42 (Rossouw, 4.2 ov), 4-106 (Mithun, 13.2 ov), 5-109 (Howell, 14.4 ov), 6-110 (Mashrafe, 15.3 ov), 7-124 (Nahidul, 17.4 ov), 8-127 (Farhad, 18.3 ov), 9-128 (Shafiul, 18.6 ov), 10-142 (Bopara, 19.4 ov)

BOWLING

AD Russell 4-0-31-2, Rubel Hossain 3.4-1-23-4, Shuvagata Hom 1-0-18-1, Shakib Al Hasan 4-1-29-1, SP Narine 4-0-18-0 Qazi Onik 3-0-21-2

Dhaka Dynamites INNINGS R B

Tharanga c Nahidul b Mashrafe 4 4

Narine c Rossouw b Nazmul 14 8

Rony Talukdar run out (Bopara) 35 24

Shakib b Howell 23 20

Pollard c Mithun b Mashrafe 14 8

Nurul not out 9 17

Russell not out 40 19

Extras (lb 2, w 6) 8

TOTAL (5 Wickets, 16.4 Overs) 147