Rangpur all out for 85 in BPL Eliminator clash against Khulna

Dhaka, 3 Feb  - Khulna Tigers raised the prospect of giving a shot at the final of Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) after dismissing Rangpur Riders for 85 runs in 16.5 overs in an Eliminator clash today at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.

The loser will be eliminated straightway while the winner will play Qualifier 2 against the team which will be defeated in the Qualifier-1 game. Fortune Barishal will take on Chittagong Kings in Qualifier-1 game later today at the same venue.

Spinner's duo-Nasum Ahmed and skipper Mehidy Hasan Miraz, shared six wickets between them evenly to wreak havoc on the much-vaunted batting line of Rangpur who recruited the franchise cricket's big name Andre Russell, Tim David and James Vince for the game.

But all of them were dismissed for single-digit figures after Rangpur opted to bat first. The trio collectively made 12 runs.

Miraz and Nasum stifled Rangpur right from the beginning, conceding just 10 runs and 16 respectively for three wickets each after bowling four overs. 

Their tight bowling left Rangpur at a precarious 32-6, raising the prospect of being all out below 50. 

No. 10 batter Akif Javed hit 18 ball-32 with four fours and two sixes while skipper Nurul Hasan Sohan made 23. They were the only two batters who could reach double digits. 

Rangpur started the tournament with a bang by winning eight straight matches but thereafter they lost four matches on the trot to end the group phase as a third-placed team and were forced to play the Eliminator.

In the last two editions of BPL too, they did quite well in the group phase but lost the Eliminator game to be eliminated from the final race.BSS