¶¶Òõ¾«Æ·

Pace sensation Nahid Rana shone again as Rangpur Riders blew away Dhaka Capitals to register their fifth consecutive win in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League as they beat Dhaka by seven wickets at the Sylhet International Stadium on Tuesday. 

Rana took 3-20 as Dhaka managed to score only 111 runs as they were bowled out in 16.3 overs. Rangpur then cruised to 113-3 in 13.2 overs, thanks to a 27-ball 40 from Englishman Alex Hales. 

Khushdil Shah also made a quickfire 27 off 13 for Rangpur.

Rangpur, who are yet to lose a match, firmed their grip at the top of the table with maximum 10 points from five outings.  

‘Of course we’re enjoying ourselves,’ said Rana after the match. ‘Everyone in the team is enjoying. Our bonding is strong both on and off the field. That is working in our favour.’

The fast bowler is also relishing his time with the Rangpur team. 

‘First of all, I want to thank the almighty. Rangpur have given me a chance; I took that,’ he said.

‘The coach and the management of Rangpur help me with tiny things like my fitness even when I’m not in the team and how to concentrate on my preparation. I’m enjoying this and trying to deliver on the field,’ added Rana. 

Dhaka, on the other hand, made six changes in their XI but still couldn’t make any changes to their fortune as they suffered their fourth straight defeat.

They, however, got a decent start after being put into bat first as the new opening pair, Jason Roy—who was playing his first match in this season—and Habibur Rahman added 28 in three overs. 

Dhaka got 54 in 5.5 despite losing Habibur. But after Roy got out, scoring 18 off 12 in the last ball of the powerplay, it all went downhill for Dhaka. 

They kept losing wickets at regular intervals as the middle order made no substantial contribution.

That included Liton Das, who came in at four and batted outside three for the first time in T20s since 2022. His poor run continued as he made nine off 13. 

Rangpur demolished the middle and lower order of Dhaka cheaply as they lost their last nine wickets for just 57 runs. 

Mosaddek Hossain, who was added to the Dhaka squad on Monday, admitted that there’s some gap that the franchise hasn’t been able to fill up. 

‘We’re not performing as a team,’ the all-rounder said after the match.

‘I’ve watched the first two to three matches on TV. We’re not playing as a team; of course there is some lacking. If we can find out those and keep focus on those, then it’d be possible.’ 

Interestingly, Mosaddek was also part of the former Dhaka franchise—Durdanto Dhaka—who lost 11 consecutive matches last season after winning the first one. 

Mosaddek, nonetheless, remained hopeful with this team. 

‘It’s all about momentum in the franchise league,’ said Mosaddek. ‘Whoever gets the momentum at the beginning, then it becomes easy for them. I think this has been tough for us. If we can win a match, then we’ll overcome this.’