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Laurie Evans century helps Rajshahi rise to fourth place

Laurie Evans cuts loose Raton Gomes/BCB

Rajshahi Kings 176 for 3 (Evans 104*, ten Doeschate 59*) beat Comilla Victorians 138 (Anamul 26, Rabbi 4-10) by 38 runs

How the game played out

Laurie Evans and Kamrul Islam Rabbi played the key roles in a convincing 38-run win for Rajshahi Kings over Comilla Victorians. After Rajshahi were asked to bat, Evans struck the first century of this Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) season, and Rabbi then picked up 4 for 10 - including three in the 18th over of the chase - to completely derail the Comilla chase of 177.

Rabbi removed Tamim Iqbal in the sixth over when Comilla were starting to get into their stride before returning late in the chase to send back Shahid Afridi, Liam Dawson and Mohammad Saifuddin in the space of four balls.

Evans' unbeaten 104 in 62 balls, with nine fours and six sixes, was his maiden T20 century. He added 148 runs for his unbroken stand with Ryan ten Doeschate, a BPL record for the fourth wicket, after they had come together at a tricky 28 for three in the seventh over. Ten Doeschate hit two fours and three sixes in his 59 not out off 41 balls.

Turning points

  • Rajshahi's run-rate took a sharp upward turn in the 14th over when Evans and ten Doeschate took 21 runs, including three sixes, off Thisara Perera.

  • The Evans-ten Doeschate combine blasted 74 runs in the last five overs, a sharp contrast with previous Rajshahi batting performances when they have struggled in the slog overs.

  • Imrul Kayes and Thisara Perera fell to a full toss and a long hop respectively from Qais Ahmed off consecutive balls in the 14th over.

  • With Comilla needing 45 off the last four overs, Mustafizur Rahman conceded just three runs in the 17th over, bowling four dot balls to Afridi.

Star of the day

Evans, whose five previous innings had produced just 13 runs with two ducks, was nimble-footed against both spin and pace, ensuring he got under the ball even when he was playing flat-batted shots.

The big miss

Surprisingly, Comilla captain Imrul Kayes used Mahedi Hasan for just one over in which he also took a wicket, even though the offspinner had taken a four-wicket haul less than a week ago.

Where the teams stand

Rajshahi entered the top four with eight points in seven games, while Comilla are in third place with the same numbers but with a superior net run-rate.

Victorians 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st37Tamim IqbalAnamul Haque
2nd30Shamsur RahmanAnamul Haque
3rd4Ziaur RahmanShamsur Rahman
4th22Ziaur RahmanImrul Kayes
5th17LA DawsonImrul Kayes
6th0LA DawsonNLTC Perera
7th25Shahid AfridiLA Dawson
8th1LA DawsonMohammad Saifuddin
9th0Wahab RiazMohammad Saifuddin
10th2Wahab RiazMahedi Hasan

Bangladesh Premier League

TeamMWLPTNRR
RR1293181.438
CV1284161.149
BRSAL1275140.414
CC127514-0.41
KT125710-0.447
SYS125710-0.748
DRD121112-1.42