Match 10, Chattogram, January 13, 2023, 06:30 PM
Khulna Tigers
130/10(19.4ov)
Rangpur Riders
131/6(19.3ov)
Rangpur Riders beat Khulna Tigers by 4 wickets
Right then, that is all we have from this cracker of a game! We have another double-header coming your way on Saturday, 14th of January where Comilla Victorians will take on Fortune Barishal in the first game while Chattogram Challengers will go up against Dhaka Dominators in the second game of Super Saturday. The first game begins at 1 pm IST (7.30 am GMT) while the second one will start at 6 pm IST (12.30 pm GMT). Do join us for the build-up of both the games. Cheers!
Nurul Hasan, the skipper of Rangpur Riders says that it’s a great comeback from them. Adds that his bowlers did the job upfront and Shoaib Malik batted with a cool head to take them deep into the chase. Lauds all the bowlers for their effort and says that the fielders did a great job, hung on to their catches despite the dew on the outfield. Closes it by saying that they all have a lot to learn from Malik who does the job time and again for them in crunch situations.
Robiul Haque is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH. He says that in Chattogram it is difficult to control the run-rate and their bowling unit did well and give cushion to their batters. Mentions that they have excellent facilities and they are working hard and he is happy to do well. Says that they are trying their best and would hope to do well throughout the tournament.
Yasir Ali, the skipper of Khulna Tigers says that it was not easy to defend 130 on the board on this wicket. Adds that his bowlers did well to defend this low score. Says that they were reduced to 20 odd for 3 and he and Azam Khan had a good partnership. Adds that he should have taken more responsibility and batted longer. Says that they will try to comeback stronger in the coming games.
Time for the Presentation.
Khulna Tigers, well, they have all the talent in the world but are just not doing the execution part right. Their star-studded batting line-up failed again and though Azam Khan looked good again, he could not carry on and get a big score as others around him kept playing loose shots and gave their wickets away. However, credit should be given to the Khulna Tigers' bowlers. They made a match out of a very low total. Mohammad Saifuddin got a big wicket of Roy Talukdar early and Riaz too bowled brilliantly again along with Nasum Ahmed. However, the 18th and 19th overs went for 14 runs each and that sealed the game finally in Rangpur Riders' favour.
Rangpur Riders did the hard work with the ball as they restricted the Tigers to only 130 with Robiul Haque taking four wickets and the rest of the bowlers too did their job perfectly. The run-chase was expected to be a straightforward one but they lost three in the Powerplay which included a big wicket of in-form Rony Talukdar in the second over. It was down to the man who is ageing like a fine wine - Shoaib Malik. He used his experience, took the game deep and though he fell close to the target, Shamim Hossain and Azmatullah Omarzai finished the job. Those three boundaries in the row in the 18th over by Shamim Hossain really shifted the momentum towards Rangpur Riders and overall they would be pretty pleased with their effort.
We have witnessed an exciting low-scoring affair here but in the end, the experience of evergreen Shoaib Malik and some timely hitting by Shamim Hossain and Azmatullah Omarzai have taken Rangpur Riders over the line. Khulna Tigers fought hard but they have lost their third game in a row now and need to go back to the drawing board to sort things out as they move ahead in this tournament.
In over# 20
1
6
0
Wahab Riaz 24/2(3.3)
19.3
1
That's it! Azmatullah Omarzai hits the winning run! Fuller on the pads, Azmatullah Omarzai clips it to deep square leg for a single and takes the Rangpur Riders over the line for a 4-wicket win in the final over.
19.2
6
SIX!! HUGE!! Length ball on the stumps. Azmatullah Omarzai clears his front leg and heaves it over the deep mid-wicket region for a biggie. Just 1 needed for the win.
Wahab Riaz comes in to bowl the final over. Will he be able to defend 7 off the final over for Khulna Tigers?
19.1
.
Length ball angling away outside off, Azmatullah Omarzai swings hard and misses.
In over# 19
1
0W
1
0
1
7nb
4
Mohammad Saifuddin 35/2(4)
18.6
1
Full and around off, Azmatullah Omarzai drills it to covers and scampers for a quick single. 7 needed off the final over.
18.5
W
OUT! CAUGHT! Oh, what an anti-climax! There is still life left in this game as Shoaib Malik holes out in the deep! Another little twist, what a game this is turning out to be. A low full toss on middle and leg. It is there for Malik to hit and he whips it off his pads with some great timing. However, he does not get the elevation or the placement here and ends up hitting it straight to Habibur Rahman at deep backward square leg. He takes a sharp catch and this game is going right down to the wire. Azmatullah Omarzai walks out to the middle now.
18.4
1
Fuller outside off, Shamim Hossain drills it to covers and sets off for a single. The fielder gets a direct hit at the bowler's end but Shamim Hossain is easily in.
18.3
.
Full and wide outside off, Shamim Hossain swings across the line and misses.
18.2
1
Slower bouncer outside off, Shoaib Malik pulls it to deep square leg for one.
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