BPL QUALIFIER 2: CHARLES 105*, MCCULLUM 78 HAMMER COMILLA BY 36 RUNS
Rangpur Riders win by 36 runs and have qualified for the BPL final for the very first time. They finished fourth on the league table, but have done extremely well to demolish both Khulna Titans and Comilla Victorians to secure their spot in the big clash.
It was not all about the big hitting displayed by overnight batsmen Johnson Charles (105*) and Brendon McCullum (78). Those two added 151 for the second wicket, but credit also goes to the Rangpur bowlers - led by Mashrafe Mortaza and Isuru Udana - who strangled Comilla in their chase of 193. Comilla looked dangerous when Liton Das and Tamim went hell-for-leather in the Powerplay, but after that the Rangpur bowlers dominated. Samuels, however, could not find form at all. Wonder how much that, and the decision to play Cremer over DJ Bravo, hurt the league leaders.
Tamim, the losing captain, first up: "I'm proud of my team. We just had two bad games and we're out of the tournament. I'll take it. Really proud of the youngsters in our team. Mahedi was excellent. About Comilla, all I will say is we will back stronger. Really thankful to the owners, supported me. Helped us get whatever players we wanted."
Mashrafe Mortaza says: "If you look at this match, it was difficult for us to restart since they were set yesterday. But they did well today, excellent. Fielding wise, we were little sloppy, but the bowlers did well. We always know that Gayle is a big guy for us, but I knew we had Baz (McCullum) and Charlie (Johnson Charles) to back us up. Looking forward to tomorrow's final. We will give a good show. I'm trying hard for my team, hope to do the best I can."
Tamim, the losing captain, first up: "I'm proud of my team. We just had two bad games and we're out of the tournament. I'll take it. Really proud of the youngsters in our team. Mahedi was excellent. About Comilla, all I will say is we will back stronger. Really thankful to the owners, supported me. Helped us get whatever players we wanted."
Mashrafe Mortaza says: "If you look at this match, it was difficult for us to restart since they were set yesterday. But they did well today, excellent. Fielding wise, we were little sloppy, but the bowlers did well. We always know that Gayle is a big guy for us, but I knew we had Baz (McCullum) and Charlie (Johnson Charles) to back us up. Looking forward to tomorrow's final. We will give a good show. I'm trying hard for my team, hope to do the best I can."
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