Chittagong Vikings 128 for 1 (Tamim 62*, Gayle 40) beat Rangpur Riders 124 for 6 (Soumya 26, Taskin 2-25, Nabi 2-31) by nine wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Chris Gayle struck two consecutive sixes twice © BCB
Chris Gayle, on his first day at this year’s BPL, provided the only entertainment of the day as Chittagong Vikings waltzed past Rangpur Riders’ 124 with nine wickets in hand, their fourth win in a row. The two teams are now on ten points each, though Chittagong are ahead on net run rate.
Gayle played cautiously for 17 deliveries for 11 runs before opening his shoulders for two consecutive sixes off Sohag Gazi in the seventh over. He struck Shahid Afridi for two consecutive sixes in the ninth over but fell trying a third, caught by Anwar Ali at mid-on.
Mirpur’s well-populated eastern gallery started to empty as soon as Gayle walked back to the pavilion after making 40 off 26 balls with two fours and the four sixes.
Tamim Iqbal was not a quiet bystander at the other end, striking nine fours and a six in his third fifty in this season’s BPL. He was unbeaten 62 off 48 balls after he struck two consecutive fours to finish the match with four overs to spare.
But it was the Chittagong bowlers’ continued disciplinary vein that rattled Rangpur’s powerful batting line-up. Mohammad Nabi and Taskin Ahmed finished with two wickets while Saqlain Sajib and Subashis Roy conceded 17 runs from their four overs each.
Soumya Sarkar was once again cut short after getting a start, falling for a 21-ball 26 with two fours and a six. What mostly hurt Rangpur’s effort was the relative failure of Mohammad Shahzad and Mohammad Mithun, who contributed 21 and 12 respectively.
Liam Dawson, who was brilliantly caught by Zakir Hasan running in from deep midwicket, and Afridi also fell cheaply while captain Naeem Islam retired hurt with a leg injury. Anwar struck a four and a six towards the end to lend some more meat to Rangpur’s modest total but it was not enough.
Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo’s Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo