DHAKA, Dec 30, 2019 (BSS)-With the remaining matches of Rangpur Rangers turning out to be crucial in their aspiration to seal the play-off berth, the side heaved a huge sigh of relief after Mustafizur Rahman returned to form with a bang.
Mustafizur claimed 3-10 in four overs to single-handedly crush Sylhet
Thunder by seven wickets in a match, which was vital for Rangpur’s quest to
stay alive in the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BBPL).
After this victory, Rangpur’s point is four in seven matches and if they
could win the rest of the five matches in a row, they may seal the play-off
berth, beating the tough equation.
That Rangpur found them in a state of embarrassment in the early part of
the tournament was vastly down to the form of Mustafizur Rahman who was
erratic with both new and old ball.
But he gave an indication to return to form during the Chattogram part of
BBPL and in Dhaka part, he flourished with full glory.
With back to the wall, Rangpur stressed on to begin the tournament afresh
and they showed the guts and determination to really start the tournament a
new. And that also was down to the performance of Mustafizur Rahman, adorably
called as The Fizz.
“He was always a good bowler but he has been going through rough phase of
his career. Now he comes back, which is good news for us,” Mustafizur’s
teammate Arafat Sunny said here today after Rangpur’s seven-wicket win over
Sylhet.
“He has been bowling well from the Chattogram part and in the last two
matches here he was excellent. Usually he bowls the way, he bowls today. So
he came back again and is in now good form. That’s a plus point for us,”
Sunny added.
Before the victory, when Rangpur was in a circle of defeats, rumours were
rife that they have internal problems in their team. The rumours sparked
further when Rangpur changed captains thrice in six matches with Mohammad
Nabi leading the side for first four matches before Tom Abell appointed as
captain. After leading the side for one match, Abell was dropped from the
team and Shane Watson took over the captaincy.
Sunny refused to make comment on those issues but believes that the victory
against Sylhet gives them the momentum which they should keep up to stay
alive in the tournament.
“When a team goes through a rough phase, they look disarray. When the
winning moment comes, everything looks okay. We needed a victory and we got
that now,” Sunny remarked.
“Now we want to build on that. We want to carry the momentum to the next
matches. If we can, it will be good for us.”
In pursuit of Sylhet’s 133-9, Rangpur fell in a problem when captain Shane
Watson was dismissed for 1 to leave the side 5-1. Sunny said that they didn’t
have any concern for the victory as they know that their batsmen were capable
of gunning down that target.
“We didn’t have negative feeling. Just what we needed was a big
partnership. Naim and Delport gave us that partnership and so we won it with
ease,” he concluded.