Rangpur Riders of Bangladesh has confirmed its place to final of the Global Super League defying the possibility of eliminating from the tournament.
They’ve reached the final overcoming the complex equation by defeating Lahore Qalandars by 23 runs in D/L method in the rain-curtailed match on Thursday night.
The match practically took the form of a semi-final. For Lahore Qalandars, the equation was simple: winning would take them to final. For Rangpur Riders, there was a slight equation of run rate as well as victory. However, Nurul Hasan Sohan's team advanced to the final with a big win.
In the match that ended on Friday morning Bangladesh time at Providence Stadium, Rangpur scored 85 runs in 9 overs. Then, due to rain, they could not bat anymore. The three batsmen who went to the crease, Steven Taylor, Soumya Sarkar and Saif Hasan, displayed aggressive batting.
As Rangpur lost only one wicket, Lahore's target in the DLS method became much bigger: 111 runs in 9 overs. But they suffered a big blow in the first over of Sheikh Mehedir Hasan, losing three wickets. Even after trying, they could only manage 87 runs.
After winning the toss in Providence, Rangpur started batting aggressively from the beginning. Soumya's stormy batting took the team to 50 in 4.5 overs. Soumya scored 22 off 13 balls. Saif Hasan also hammered a blistering knock. He remained unbeaten on 27 runs off 14 balls with 4 boundaries and 1 six. And opener Steven Taylor was unbeaten on 32 off 27 balls.
Lahore Qalandars' target was set at 111 runs in 9 overs under the D/L method. Lahore crashed out of the match after losing 4 wickets for 14 runs. Sheikh Mahadi took 3 of those wickets.
Later, Mirza Baig, Tom Able and finally Faheem Ashraf's stormy batting gave Lahore hope. But that didn’t save them. Baig was out for 31 off 20 balls, Able for 25 off 12 balls. Faheem Ashraf remained unbeaten on 18 runs off 9 balls. Lahore were stopped at 87 for 7.
Sheikh Mahedi took three wickets for just 11 runs in 2 overs. 2 wickets went to Jack Chappell’s bag. Rangpur's opponent in the final on Saturday (December 7) is Australia's team Victoria.
Bd-pratidin English/Lutful Hoque
