Shanto-Waseem partnership takes Rajshahi to victory against Rangpur

Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto and Muhammad Waseem's season-best 142-run partnership off 82 balls sealed a seven-wicket victory for Rajshahi Warriors in their Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) match against Rangpur Riders at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, report agencies.
Put in to bat, Rangpur's Towhid Hridoy fell short of a century by three runs playing 56 balls and guided his team to 178-4. But, his innings went into vain and Rajshahi reached their target with nine balls remaining.
Rajshahi's Muhammad Waseem played till the end in his 59-ball 87, while Shanto gave his wicket to Mustafizur Rahman at the 16th over, smashing 76 off 42 deliveries. Both Waseem and Shanto hit boundaries time to time and 62 runs came in the powerplay. Waseem struck seven fours and four sixes, while Shanto smashed six fours and also four sixes.
The UAE batter Waseem took 32 deliveries to reach his half century and the captain took only 28. New Zealand all-rounder James Neesham, who was playing in the tournament for the first time, lost his wicket when he attempted to hit a six after the first ball.
As Rangpur batted, Kyle Mayers, Litton Das and Iftikhar Ahmed were dismissed cheaply, before Khushdil Shah and Towhid added 105 runs for the fourth wicket to build a challenging total. Khushdil was dismissed for 44 in the last over.
Litton Das was 14 at 11 balls as he lost to his wicket playing a poor shot off a Sandeep Lamichhane delivery. He had not yet got a half century although he played in all the matches for his team.
Iftikhar played 15 balls to score eight runs before he gave his wicket to Tanzim Hasan Sakib.
Mustafizur Rahman broke the partnership by dismissing Shanto but Waseem stood
tall to help the side race to the victory without any fuss.
Chattogram Royals is leading the table with 10 points from five wins in seven matches. Due to a lower run rate, Rajshahi Warriors are at the second position after the victory with the same number of wins and matches played as Chattogram. Rangpur Riders and Sylhet Titans are right behind them with 8 points each. Ranpgur and Rajshahi played seven matches each, while Sylhet played eight matches.