CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh, CMC – Superstar opener Chris Gayle mis-fired but his Rangpur Riders did not, easing to a handsome four-wicket win over Andre Fletcher’s Sylhet Sixers in the Bangladesh Premier League here Tuesday.
Set a challenging 174 for victory at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Riders reached their target with two balls to spare, to clinch their fifth win of the campaign.
New Zealand star Brendon McCullum finally came good with 43 from 38 balls while England’s Ravi Bopara extended his decent form with 33 off 24 deliveries.
West Indies batting star, Chris Gayle.
The left-handed Gayle scored just five before perishing to the fourth ball of the innings with seven runs on the board.
However, McCullum put on 59 for the second wicket with opener Ziaur Rahman (36) and a further 29 for the third wicket with Mohammad Mithun (18) to revive the innings.
Pakistani Babar Azam had earlier top-scored with 54 off 37 deliveries as Sixers, sent in, raised 173 for five off their 20 overs.
Fletcher struck a brisk 26 off 17 balls with two fours and a six.
Riders moved to 10 points, widening their gap in fourth to three points over Sixers in fifth position.
In the feature match, West Indies stars Carlos Brathwaite and Nicholas Pooran all failed as leaders Khula Titans suffered an inexplicable batting collapse to slump to a nine-wicket defeat at the hands of Comilla Victorians.
Opting for first knock, Titans were bundled out for 111 in the final over, with Brathwaite scoring 13, Barbadian Jofra Archer getting five and Pooran failing to score.
Medium pacer Dwayne Bravo claimed one for 29 from his four overs.
Opener Tamim Iqbal then lashed an unbeaten 64 as Victorians romped home in the 14th over.
