Wahab Riaz five-fer helps Dhaka Platoons win by 74 runs

The 26th match of the Bangladesh Premier League saw Dhaka Platoons crushing Rajshahi Royals (RSR) by a mammoth 74-run margin. Batting first, Platoons scored an above-par score of 174 from 20 overs, with the help of two fine knocks from Tamim Iqbal and Asif Ali. Iqbal scored 68 runs from 52 balls with four boundaries and three sixes, and Asif who came out to bat at the 7th position scored a lightning 55 from just 28 balls, which included four boundaries and four huge sixes. Luis Reece (9 runs from 11 balls), Mehedi Hasan (21 runs from 11 balls), Ariful Haque (7 runs from 8 balls) and Mashrafe Mortaza (first ball duck) were unable to contribute significantly to the Platoons. While Shoaib Malik (3-0-13-1) and Mohammad Irfan (4-0-29-0) were disciplined with the ball for the Royals, Farhad Reza (3-0-44-2) leaked runs at the other end, despite taking wickets.

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Chasing 175 for a victory, the Royals got a quick start as they scored 39 runs from the first 3 overs. But things took a drastic turn since from the fourth over bowled by Wahab Riaz. The first ball of the over saw Liton Das being caught by the substitute fielder Jaker Ali. The Riaz-Jaker Ali combo didn't stop there, as the same fielder caught 2 more catches in that over to dismiss Alok Kapali and the veteran Shoaib Malik without opening their respective accounts. Ravi Bopara (10 runs from 11 balls) who was trying to build a partnership with Nahidul Islam (14 runs from 19 balls) was ran out by Asif Ali.

All the hopes of Royals, were depending on the next man who came to the crease - Andre Russell. But Hasan Mahmud sent back the danger man in the 11th over, which made the remaining process easy for the Platoons. RSR were eventually all out for 100 and Riaz was awarded the Man of the Match for his magical spell of 3.4-1-8-5.