MIRPUR: Mohammad Naim’s blazing century steered Khulna Tigers to a 46-run victory over Rangpur Riders in the 39th match of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) here at Shere Bangla National Stadium on Thursday.
After choosing to bat first, Khulna Tigers posted a mammoth total of 220 runs at the loss of four wickets in their 20 overs.
Naim was the star of the match, scoring a brilliant 111* runs on 62 balls with the help of eight sixes and seven fours. The centurion alongside captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz put on a 32-run partnership for the first wicket.
Miraz was dismissed for a well-made 21 by Mahedi Hasan but Mohammad Naim held on to the other end.
He was joined by William Bosisto (36) and they formed an 88-run partnership for the third wicket which took their team into a commanding position.
After Bosisto’s dismissal, Naim alongside Mahidul Islam Ankon (29) forged a 70-run partnership to lift Khulna Tigers to post 220 runs.
Mahedi Hasan, Akif Javed and Iftikhar Ahmed took one wicket apiece for Rangpur Riders.
While chasing a big total, the Rangpur Riders lost two wickets in the powerplay and were struggling at 36-2. Their opener Tawfique Khan (9) was out LBW by Nasum Ahmed while Saif Hassan (6) was run out courtesy of brilliant fielding by Mohammad Nawaz.
However, the experienced duo of Soumya Sarkar and Iftikhar Ahmed (19) put on a 36-run partnership for the third wicket to keep the team in the hunt.
Sarkar held on to one end, while wickets were tumbling on the other end, and scored his first half-century of BPL, giving a glimmer of hope to Rangpur Riders.
Sarkar scored 74 runs from 48 balls with the help of six boundaries and five sixes, however, he could not take his team across the line, falling in the final over. Rangpur Riders only managed to score 174 runs in their allocated 20 overs.
Musfik was the pick of bowlers, who took 3-24 in his four overs while Mohammad Nawaz bagged two wickets.
After an impressive eight-match winning streak that secured their playoff spot, this was Rangpur Riders’ fourth consecutive loss in the BPL.
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