Rangpur Riders continued their impeccable run in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) with a 33-run victory over Chittagong Kings, marking their eighth consecutive win in the tournament at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium on Friday.
Khushdil Shah led the Riders with 59 off 28 balls while batting first, reports UNB.
Rangpur posted 164 for 7, anchored by Khushdil. He hit seven sixes. This innings rescued Rangpur after a cautious start. Steven Taylor contributed 39 off 32, but the middle-order faltered as Chittagong’s bowlers did well in that phase of the match.
For the Kings, Aliss Al Islam took 2 for 28 runs and Mohammad Wasim bagged 2 for 42 runs.
Chittagong’s chase never gathered momentum, with opener Usman Khan dismissed for a golden duck by Rakibul Hasan on the first ball of the innings.
While Parvez Hossain Emon, 26 off 14, and Shamim Hossain, 38 off 31, showed promise, the Kings struggled against Rangpur’s disciplined bowling attack.
Akif Javed scalped 4 wickets for 32 runs, while Khushdil backed up his batting heroics with bowling figures of 2 for 23.
Iftikhar Ahmed and Rakibul Hasan also chipped in with crucial wickets to restrict Chittagong to 131 for 8 in their 20 overs.
With this win, Chittagong’s points reached 16 in eight matches. They are yet to concede any defeat in this year’s BPL so far.
Bd-pratidin English/Fariha Nowshin Chinika
