Miserly Rana not enough to stop first Rangpur win

Another miserly bowling performance from BBPL revelation Mehedi Hasan Rana was not enough to stop Rangpur Rangers from notching their first win, as they beat Chattogram Challengers by six wickets at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong Saturday.

Chattogram Challengers posted 163/7 in their 20 overs, after the Rangers won the toss and elected to field. 

Among the Challengers batsmen, Sri Lankan opener Avishka Fernando led the way with 40-ball 72, including 8 boundaries and 4 sixes. However, he did not get much support, with the second highest score being 20 off 18 balls from wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan.

Rangpur Rangers pacer Mustafizur Rahman finally put in a performance reminiscent of the promise he showed early in his career, picking up two wickets and giving away just 23 runs in his four overs. English all-rounder Lewis Gregory also picked up two wickets, while Mukidul Islam, Mohammad Nabi and Sanjit Saha chipped in with one each.

All-rounder @Mahmudullah30 and top-order batsman Imrul Kayes pushed for on-song left-arm pacer Mehedi Hasan Rana in the Bangabandhu @BCBtigers Bangladesh Premier Twenty20.https://t.co/o1bfeIutpn#BCBTIGERS #BCB #TIGERS #BANGLADESHCRICKET #BANGLADESH #CRICKET #MAHMUDULLAH #KAYES

— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) December 21, 2019

The Rangers innings was off to shaky start, with openers Mohammad Naim (4) and Cameron Delport (4) both dismissed in the first three overs. Naim was the first to go when he was bowled by Rubel on the penultimate ball of the first over, before plunked bowled out Delport on the penultimate ball of the third.

Number 3 batsman Tom Abell added 24 off 24 balls to the score line before he too was dismissed by Rubel on the fifth ball of the seventh over, bringing Lewis Gregory to the crease.

The English all-rounder then put on a batting masterclass, striking an unbeaten 76 off just 37 balls, including 6 fours and 5 sixes. He received good support from number 4 batsman Shadman Islam (16) and Fazle Mahmud (38) as Rangpur finally got a win.

Mehedi Hasan Rana and Nasum Ahmed attempted to restrict the flow of runs, with the former picking up a wicket and giving away just 16 runs in his three overs. Rubel was the top wicket-taker in the match for his side with two, but both him and Plunket leaked runs heavily in the death overs.

16TH Match, CCvRR

CHATTOGRAM CHALLENGERS INNINGS         R    B

Simmons b Mustafizur                 0    4

Fernando b Sanjit Saha                72    40

Imrul c Shadman b Gregory            10    9

Nasir c Mukidul b Nabi                9    13

Walton b Gregory                16    14

Nurul c Naim b Mukidul             20    18

Muktar c Abell b Mustafizur             12    9

Plunkett not out                17    12

Rubel not out                    2    2

Extras (nb 1, w 4)                 5

Total (20 Overs)                    163/7

Fall Of Wickets

1-0 (Simmons), 2-22 (Imrul), 3-66 (Nasir), 4-95 (Fernando), 5-113 (Walton), 6-132 (Muktar), 7-147 (Nurul)

Bowling

Mustafizur 4-1-23-2, Mukidul 4-0-42-1, Gregory 4-0-27-2, Nabi 4-0-33-1, Sanjit 3-0-25-1, Abell 1-0-13-0 

RANGPUR RANGERS INNINGS         R     B

Naim b Rubel                4    5

Delport b Plunkett            4    5

Abell c Nurul b Rubel             24    24

Shadman c Kayes b Rana        16    20

Gregory not out                76    37

Fazle not out                38    21

Extras (lb 2, w 3)            5 

Total (18.4 Overs)            167/4 

Fall Of Wickets

1-4 (Naim), 2-19 (Delport), 3-36 (Abell), 4-76 (Shadman)

Bowling

Rubel 4-0-37-2, Rana 3-0-16-1, Plunkett 4-0-46-1, Nasum 4-0-23-0, Muktar 3.4-0-43-0

Rangpur Rangers won by six wickets

MoM: Lewis Gregory (RR)