‌BPL 2024 | Babar Azam and Azmatullah Omarzai rescue Riders to an emphatic triumph in Dhaka.

‌BPL 2024 | Babar Azam and Azmatullah Omarzai rescue Riders to an emphatic triumph in Dhaka.

SportsCafe Desk

By SportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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In a low-scoring encounter at the Sher E Bangla Stadium in Dhaka, both sides suffered early stutters. Although a 68-run sixth wicket stand helped Sylhet post 120 runs, Babar Azam and Azmatullah Omarzai stabilised the chase and denied further hiccups to seal the deal for the Riders.

A Shakib-less Rangpur Riders won the toss and sent the Sylhet Strikers to bat first. Although Najmul Hossain Shanto produced an elegant boundary off the second ball, Mahedi Hasan drew early blood from the other end after dismissing Mohammad Mithun in the second over. Mashrafe Mortaza, who came to bat at no. 3 found himself stuck in a schoolboyish run-out inside the powerplay. Subsequently, Yasir Ali tried to counter the opposition by smashing two back-to-back boundaries at the start of the fifth over but failed to extend the assault as Mahedi Hasan outfoxed him at the brink of powerplay. The struggle continued for the batters as Zakir Hasan and Shanto followed suit post-field restrictions. With the scoreboard reading 39/5 after 8.2 overs, Benny Howell and Ben Cutting notched up 37 runs each and added 68 runs together to help the Strikers reach 120/7 at the end of 20 overs. 

The Riders got a similar start as that of their counterparts and lost six of their top seven batters for single digits. Richard Ngarava, Nazmul Islam, and Tanzid Hasan Sakib struck early with the ball with Dushan Hemantha wreaked havoc in the middle order. They were reeling at 39/6 when Babar Azam and Azmatullah Omarzai, the last recognized pair of Riders stood up. The pair eased off the pressure with the former playing his natural strokes and the latter playing second fiddle. Right after the halfway mark, Omarzai switched gears and charged the bowlers during the slog overs to quickly overhaul the chase with ten balls to spare. 

King Babar!👑

Yaar ehh kitthii awesome hi yaar!

King karliya bhai!

King for a reason!

KING BABAR 👑

What a knock much needed!

He deserves all the hearts now!

As usual!

King hi bhai!

Haha!

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