Chris Gayle and Alex Hales hit fifties as Rangpur pull off steep chase
Farhad Reza does the star turn with the ball against Khulna with his maiden T20 four-for
The Report by Mohammad Isam
22-Jan-2019
Farhad Reza picked up four wickets for Rangpur Riders • Raton Gomes/BCB
Rangpur Riders 183 for 4 (Gayle 55, Hales 55) beat Khulna Titans 181 for 6 (Shanto 48, Wiese 35*, Farhad 4-32) by six wickets
How the game played out
Rangpur Riders picked up the pace in their Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) campaign with a six-wicket win over Khulna Titans. Chasing 182 for victory, Rangpur had Alex Hales giving them a sound start with a quick 55, while his opening partner Chris Gayle ensured there was no wobble during the middle overs.
Rilee Rossouw's six over midwicket off Yasir Shah with three balls remaining completed Rangpur's win.
Najmul Hossain Shanto had earlier held the Khulna innings together with 48 off 35 balls, with three sixes, before David Wiese hammered an unbeaten 15-ball 35 towards the close. Farhad Reza, playing his 88th T20 game, finished with his first four-wicket haul in the format.
Turning points
- David Wiese smashed two sixes and three fours in the last two overs in which Khulna got 30 runs, lifting them from a modest 151 for 5 to 181 for 6.
- Hales and Gayle added 78 runs in 7.4 overs for the first wicket, giving Rangpur the perfect start in a steep chase.
- Khulna were still in the contest after 16 overs with Rangpur needing a further 42 runs, but Gayle settled his team's nerves with three sixes in the 17th over.
Star of the day
It was only a matter of time before Gayle got going in the tournament, and he chose a good time to shoulder the responsibility. He took a backseat as Hales and AB de Villiers swung it around, and only brought out his own big-hitting when things got tight.
The big miss
With six runs required off the last over, Mohammad Mithun went down the track to Yasir Shah but missed the delivery to put Rangpur in some bother. However, Rossouw got them across the line.
Where the teams stand
Rangpur moved up to third place after their fourth win in eight games; Khulna haven't added to their solitary win in the competition.
Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo's Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84