chittagong kings - Dhaka Mirror

Kings stutter to semis

Admin — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 15:43:00 +0000

Chittagong Kings got the better of their nerve to beat Duronto Rajshahi by four wickets in the crucial eliminator setting up a semi-final contest against Sylhet Royals in the Bangladesh Premier League on Saturday.
Chasing a meagre target of 108 runs for victory, Kings looked extremely nervous when they lost five wickets in quick succession, but they somehow managed to overcome it to cruise to their target in 17.2 overs.
They will now face Royals today hoping to make their first BPL final having started their campaign in a stuttering way this season. They were unable to chase 99 runs against the same side in their opening match after losing three wickets in the last three balls to suffer an agonising two-run defeat.
Things were heading in the same direction despite they had 43 runs in their opening stand inside the first six overs. Naeem Islam Jr removed both openers Jason Roy (30) and Nurul Hasan (14) to bring Duronto back in the contest and Kings soon lost their way.
Mahmudullah, back at the helm after Brendan Taylor departed for home, gave a return catch to Muktar Ali while Ryan ten Doeschate was inexplicably stumped out by Sri Lankan Isuru Udana.
When Monir Hossain trapped Ariful Haque lbw and Kevon Cooper suffered a run-out in quest for an unnecessary single it looked like Kings would choke to defeat like they did in some matches early in the competition.
But Ravi Bopara, returning to the line-up after a long gap, kept his composure and guided Kings home with an unbeaten 34 off 30 balls, which included just three boundaries. Jacob Oram provided him some support to stay unbeaten on 10.
Young Under-19 pacer Taskin Ahmed set up the win with 4-31, which ripped the heart out of Duronto’s top-order to restrict them to 107-7. Charles Coventry struck Taskin for two fours and a six in his first three balls, but he came back strongly to uproot the Zimbabwean’s leg stump in the fourth ball.
Taskin, playing only his second game in the tournament, had Simon Katich out in the last ball of the same over and returned to bowl Jahirul Islam in the first ball of his next over, raising the prospect of a hat-trick.
Shaun Ervine denied him the feat, but the 18-year-old rookie added the wicket of Mukter Ali in his last spell to complete his most memorable match in the short career.
Duronto owed their total to Ervine, who was unbeaten on 47 to help them cross the 100-run mark.
BRIEF SCORES
Duronto Rajshahi 107-7 in 20 overs (S Ervine 47 not out, M Ali 18; T Ahmed 4-31, Mahmudullah 2-6) v Chittagong Kings 108-6 in 17.2 overs (R Bopara 34 not out, J Roy 30, J Oram 10 not out; Naeem Islam Jr 2-25).
Result: Chittagong Kings won by 4 wickets.
Man of the match: T Ahmed (CK)

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Duronto, Kings face off in knockout tie

Admin — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 17:09:34 +0000

Captaincy remained the focal point for Duronto Rajshahi and Chittagong Kings as they clash with each other in the first eliminator today where the losers will be eliminated from the Bangladesh Premier League.
The winner of the tie, meanwhile, will take on Sylhet Royals to determine which team goes through to the all-important final on February 19 where Dhaka Gladiators are lying in wait.
The two teams, who were unable to string together a consistent run in the tournament, will be eager to book a berth in the second eliminator where the winning side will fight against the Royals.
By virtue of sheer luck, Duronto reached the final stages of the competition as Barisal Burners offered a helping hand. Duronto made things difficult for themselves after suffering a defeat against the Kings in their last game of the campaign. However, the Burners came to Duronto’s rescue by beating the Riders in both the sides’ last game of the league stage.
The three teams – Duronto, Burners and Riders – were all locked on ten points each but Duronto had a superior head-to-head record between the three teams. Duronto had three wins to the Riders’ two while the Burners only won once.
As the tournament progressed, Duronto used several captains that started with Tamim Iqbal, Jahirul Islam, Chamara Kupugedera and Mukhtar Ali with the Sri Lankan Kapugedera expected to lead against the Kings.
Coach of Duronto Rajshahi, Khaled Mashud stressed that pressure played a big part in the continuous change of the captaincy baton while he was talking to reporters on Friday.
‘I think we lacked in the captaincy department because usually it takes time for someone to lead from the front,’ said Mashud.
‘Nobody was prepared to take the responsibility that made us change our captain for several times. A player must enjoy the role of the skipper but in our case the local cricketers seemed to be feeling the pressure,’ added Mashud.
His counterpart at Kings, Khaled Mahmud said that the absence of his lucky skipper Brendan Taylor will be hard to fulfill.
Taylor took over the reign of the Kings from Mahmudullah Riyad and suddenly changed the complexion of the team by leading from the front after they were stuck with only two wins in six matches. In the last match, however, Enamul Haque Jr was the skipper of Kings.
Taylor, the leading scorer of the Kings, left the franchise after he was called up by the Zimbabwe Cricket Board for national duty.
‘Apart from being one of our top scorers, he (Taylor) handled the team very well and that will certainly be missing now.’ said Mahmud.
‘But that is cricket and you have to move forward with that,’ added Mahmud.
Mahmud was of the opinion that Nurul Hasan was a major find after he scored 42 against the Gladiators.
Mahmudullah is expected to lead the side while Jacob Oram, who previously left the country to be with his sick child back home is expected to be present before the start of the crucial clash.
Naeem Islam, who injured himself in the match against Duronto, is fit and raring to go.

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Kings avoid drama, join last-four

Admin — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 15:29:34 +0000

Rubel Hossain atoned for his poor last-over show in the previous match to bowl Chittagong Kings to a 33-run win over Duronto Rajshahi and send them to the play-off in the Bangladesh Premier League on Wednesday.
Rubel was Kings’ villain in their last match against Rangpur Riders when he conceded 16 runs in the final over to put them in a must-win situation in this match against Duronto.
A sense of deja vu gripped Kings again when Rubel took the ball in the 16th over with Duronto needing 53 runs from 30 balls and seven wickets in hand, chasing a target of 194.
With the game evenly-poised, Rubel bowled a brilliant over, unexpectedly though, giving away just four runs and taking the wicket of Jahirul Islam in the process.
The momentum suddenly swung to Kings’ way and they never let it go in the remaining four overs. Kevon Cooper conceded just one run in the next over and Rubel, who has the history of spoiling the good work of one over in the next, maintained the pressure again.
Duronto could score just four runs in his third over at the expense of Simon Katich, their last remaining hope, who was bowled in the bowler’s third ball after making 53 from 39 balls.
It made the equation 44 runs to score from 12 balls and Duronto were all of a sudden in deep sea after finding themselves in a winning situation only a few overs ago. They were finally restricted to 160-6, which put their campaign in total disarray.
With their all 12 league matches completed, they have just 10 points which may not be adequate for a berth in the play-off match. If Barisal Burners can beat Sylhet Royals’ in the day’s second game the latter will be out of the competition.
In that case the winners between Barisal Burners and Rangpur Riders will join Dhaka Gladiators, Sylhet Royals and Chittagong Kings in the last four.
If Burners lose the game, Duronto will have a mathematical chance until the end of Barisal Burners- Rangpur Riders match. With this equation, a win for Burners in that match will put three teams on equal 10 points and the last position will be decided on head-to-head record and run-rate.
If Riders win the game they will be through with 12 points and Burners and Duronto will bow out.
Kings, who have still one game left against Dhaka Gladiators today, should thank their bowlers for hauling them back from this critical situation. If they had lost this game they had to beat Gladiators and wait for the other results to come in their favour.
They were left out of the semi-finals in a late night drama last season, but this win ensured they have now avoided a similar situation.
Jason Roy took Kings to a fighting total with his unbeaten 92 and the Englishman was ably aided by Ryan ten Doeschate, who translated his recent brilliant form into a fine fifty.
The Dutchman, who was run-out in the last ball of the innings, made 65 from 39 balls with four fours and three sixes, two of which came in the final over.
Roy returned to line-up after nine matches and he made his chance count with a 55-ball innings. He could have been easily the third centurion of the tournament, but Doeschate denied him of a strike in the last over.

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It’s do-or-die for Kings, Duronto

Admin — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 16:39:02 +0000

Chittagong Kings and Duronto Rajshahi will engage in a do-or-die clash today that will go a long way in determining which teams will go through to the play offs of the Bangladesh Premier League 2013.
The encounter between the Kings and Duronto has been rightly billed as a knockout clash as the winners of the tie will qualify for the play-off spot without bothering about the results of the other matches.
The loser would still be able to qualify, but that will depend on the outcome of the last game of Rangpur Riders, who are also in contention.
Dhaka Gladiators and Sylhet Royals have already qualified and confirmed the top two places and the battle for a place in the play offs or in other words the eliminator is now limited to the Kings, Duronto and the Riders.
The Kings have garnered 10 points from 10 games while Duronto have gathered the same number of points having played a game more than their south-eastern rivals. The Riders are hot on the heels of both the Kings and Duronto, with 10 points from 11 games.
A win for the Kings will be enough to send the port-city outfit to the play offs with Duronto and the Riders left to fight for the fourth and last-remaining spot.
In the case of a Kings win, Duronto will have to wait for the encounter between Barisal Burners and the Riders.
If the Riders win their last game of the campaign against Burners on Thursday then the Riders will be through to the play-offs with Duronto out of reckoning.
However, if the Riders lose then both Duronto and Riders will finish on the same number of points and the head-to-head record will come into play. As the two teams won one game against each other, therefore, the run rate will decide their fate.
In account of a Duronto victory against the Kings, then the north-west side will go through and the Kings will have to contest with the Riders for the last remaining place.
The Kings have to win their last game against the Gladiators and hope the Riders lose against the Burners as the Riders have a better head-to-head record against the Kings.
A win for the Kings against the Gladiators coupled with a win for the Riders will see the Kings crash out of the competition.
A loss for the Kings in the last game will, however, make things easier for the Riders with a defeat or a victory enough to send the Riders through to the play offs.
The winners of the tie between the Kings and Duronto will have a major say in the make-up of the play-off list and the onus was not lost on Khaled Mahmud, coach of the Kings.
‘It’s a do-or-die match for us as far as getting a place in the semi-final is concerned,’ Mahmud told reporters on Tuesday.
‘If we win then we stand a chance as the run-rate will come into affect,’ he added.
Meanwhile Khaled Mashud, coach of Duronto, was upbeat ahead of the crucial match as his side have beaten the Kings in a close encounter in the first leg of the league.
‘We have to beat them if we want to progress further in the tournament,’ Mashud, told reporters on Tuesday.
‘We have already defeated them earlier despite making a very low score so that result is naturally playing a part to boost our confidence,’ added Mashud.
The Kings lost their previous match against Duronto by just two runs after losing three wickets in three balls of the last over while chasing a target of just 100 runs.

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Riders down Kings in nail-biting finish

Admin — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 11:16:55 +0000

Rangpur Riders brought high-flying Chittagong Kings down to earth with a thrilling five-wicket win in the last over of their Bangladesh Premier League encounter at Mirpur on Saturday.
Set a target of 161 runs, Riders needed 16 runs in the final over and they got exactly that to record their first win in five matches, which also revived their semi-final hopes.
A misfielding from Naeem Islam at long off saw Rubel Hossain conceding a boundary in the first ball of the final over to Kevin O’Brien, who also sent the next ball for four to bring the equation down to eight runs from four balls.
But the next two balls fetched just one run which meant Riders had to score seven runs in two balls which they acquired thanks to West Indies cricketer Danza Hyatt. He sent the fifth delivery over long off for a six and scrambled for a leg-bye in the last ball to avoid the tie and subsequently, the tournament’s first ever super over.
Imrul Kayes and Cameron Borgas set up the win with a 96-run third-wicket stand after Riders lost their in-form batsman Shamsur Rahman (17) and Junaed Siddique (nine) with 27 runs on the board.
West Indies all-rounder Kevon Cooper brought Kings back in the contest when he had dismissed both Kayes and Borgas for identical 48 in one over. Kings suddenly looked favourites after Shaun Tait had Nasir Hossain out for four in the next over.
But everything changed in the final over, which ended a purple patch for the Kings, who had won their last four matches on the trot, all in convincing manner. A similar win would have made their semi-final qualification all but confirmed.
They had reasons to feel comfortable after reaching 160-6 despite their middle-order struggling for runs amid regular breakthroughs by the Riders.
Ryan ten Doeschate made 50 off 31 balls, his second fifty in the tournament and he, together with unheralded all-rounder Ariful Haque (33 not out), took them to a respectable total.
Kings captain Brendan Taylor, who tasted his first defeat since replacing Mahmudullah Riyad, ruled out that a sense of complacency has cost them the game.
‘I wouldn’t say complacency, because we bowled and batted really well but (we) just panicked in the field a little bit,’ Taylor said after the match. ‘If we hadn’t done that, we would have backed ourselves to win this game.’
BRIEF SCORES
Chittagong Kings 160-6 in 20 overs (RN ten Doeschate 50, A Haque 33 not out, N Islam 29; N Hossain 2-25, A Razzak 2-35) v Rangpur Riders 161-5 in 20 overs (I Kayes 48, C Borgas 48, D Hyatt 20 not out; S Tait 2-25, K Cooper 2-27).
Result: Rangpur Riders won by 5 wickets.
Man of the match: D Hyatt (RR)

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Royal victory for Kings

Admin — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 17:20:37 +0000

Chittagong Kings rewrote the record that they set up 24 hours ago when they humiliated table-toppers Sylhet Royals by 119 runs in the Bangladesh Premier League on Friday.
This is the biggest ever victory margin recorded in a BPL match in its brief history, improving Kings’ 89-run win over Khulna Royal Bengals in their previous game a day earlier.
This was added to Kings’ consecutive wins in three previous matches, all coming in big margins, which have now transformed them into one of the favourites to win the tournament after a stuttering start to the campaign.
Brendan Taylor and Naeem Islam set up the win with almost identical fifties that helped Kings put 193-4 in their 20 overs, their highest total in the season to which Royals had no answer.
Taylor and Naeem both made 58 runs and shared 118 runs for the opening stand before an in-form Ryan ten Doeschate hit 37 runs off 18 balls
and Mahmudullah struck an unbeaten 24 from 13 balls.
Royals, who successfully chased 197 runs against Rangpur Riders in their previous game, were unable to repeat the performance against a Kings attack that had earlier dismissed the opposition less than 100 runs for at least three times in the tournament.
Royals also missed the services of their inspirational skipper Mushfiqur Rahim, who was out with a hamstring injury and had been replaced by unheralded Jashim Uddin with Sohrawardi Shuvo as captain.
They also mysteriously dropped experienced West Indian batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who along with Mushfiq, steered the side to a six-wicket win against Riders in the previous evening.
In the absence of Chanderpaul and Mushfiq, their top-order caved in cheaply as they lost their first four wickets for just 16 runs and could never recover from the damage.
Shaun Tait (3-16), Rubel Hossain (3-14) and Enamul Haque Jr (3-14) shared nine wickets between them as Royals were dismissed for 74 runs in just 13.5 overs.
Afghan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi provided the only resistance with 35 off 33 balls while just two other batsmen – Soharawardi (13) and Sohag Gazi (10) could reach double figures.

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Kings gun down sorry KRB

Admin — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 18:41:16 +0000

Ryan ten Doeschate played a brilliant unbeaten innings of 95 runs from 61 balls to set up a crushing 89-run win for Chittagong Kings over Khulna Royal Bengals in the Bangladesh Premier League on Thursday.
Looked set for a disaster with 10-3, the Dutchman batted sensibly to take Kings to a respectable 156-5 before their bowlers produced a commanding performance for their third consecutive win.
The Royal Bengals were shot out for 67, easily the lowest score in the brief history of the BPL, which made them the second side to be unable to cross the 100-run mark against a new-look Kings.
Kings, who won their previous two matches by eight wickets and 54 runs earlier, had restricted Dhaka Gladiators to 88-8, which was the previous lowest total in the tournament.
After the resounding victory, Kings consolidated fourth spot in the table with eight points from eight games, while the Royal Bengals are rooted to the bottom with four points from nine games.
Kevon Cooper was the wrecker-in-chief for the port-city outfit, taking four wickets at a miserly cost of 10 runs while Enamul Haque Jr and Jacob Oram shared five wickets between them.
None of the Royal Bengals batsmen were able to put up any sort of resistance with wickets tumbling at regular intervals. With the exception of Shahriar Nafees and Farhad Reza, no other Khulna batsman could even reach double figures.
Kings also had a similarly poor start to the game with three wickets falling for 10 runs inside the first four overs, but ten Doeschate and new signing David Millar helped them recover from the precarious position.
Together with South African Miller, ten Doeschate put on 61 runs for the fourth wicket to the revive Chittagong’s innings. Ten Doeschate struck seven fours and four colossal sixes to put the finishing touch to the Chittagong’s innings.
The Dutch batsman was particularly harsh on any delivery offered towards the on-side, with most of his boundaries and sixes coming through the mid-wicket region.
Thanks to ten Doeschate Kings plundered 107 runs in the last 10 overs, including 69 in the last five overs with 36 coming from the last two alone.
BRIEF SCORES
Chittagong Kings 156-5 in 20 overs (RN ten Doeschate 95 not out, DA Miller 22; S Zadran 2-21) v Khulna Royal Bengals 67 in 14.2 overs (S Nafees 15; K Cooper 4-10, J Oram 2-15).
Result: Chittagong Kings won by 89 runs.
Man of the match: RN ten Doeschate (CK)

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Doeschate makes mark finally

Admin — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 18:38:05 +0000

Dutchman Ryan ten Doeschate finally made his mark in the Bangladesh Premier League when he scored a match-winning 95 runs for Chittagong Kings against Khulna Royal Bengals on Thursday.
Ten Doeschate, often hailed as Sachin Tendulkar of ICC associate member nations, was getting a start in every game that he played since making his BPL debut against Barisal Burners, but he somehow missed out on a big score.
After his first three innings ended in the 20s, he was unbeaten on 41 against Royal Bengals in their first meeting before returning to the same phenomenon against Dhaka Gladiators in the last match.
He spoiled his good start against Gladiators by getting out on 23 which could have a potentially disastrous effect on the team. After his dismissal there was hardly any batting left and consequently Kings were dismissed for 142.
The port city side’s bowlers salvaged a 54-run win but ten Doeschate was not ready to wait for them, doing the job again. With the team struggling at 10-3, he did something very special to set up an even bigger win as Kings crushed Royal Bengals by 89 runs.
‘That’s been very frustrating giving my wicket four times for 20 and being not out once,’ said Doeschate. ‘But I feel that I am batting well and in Twenty20 cricket sometimes you need to play your shots at very high risk and can get out at 20 and 30s.
‘It’s nice to make a big score in the end,’ said the South African-born cricketer, who plays for Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League alongside Bangladesh’s Sakib al Hasan.
Ten Doeschate came close to becoming only the second batsman of the season to score a century with 14 runs needed for him in the last over, but he was denied enough strike by West Indian Kevon Cooper.
Still he made the most of his chances by hitting a six in the fifth ball, his fourth in the innings, which took him past Anamul Haque’s 89 runs for the second highest individual innings of the tournament.
Given the manner the wicket behaved, his 61-ball unbeaten innings, which also included six fours, has got more significance. Kings made a mistake to judge the wicket and paid the price by losing their top three batsmen inside four overs, which left the onus on Doeschate.
‘I don’t think we were quick enough to assess the wicket,’ he said after the match. ‘We initially thought that it was a good wicket but you cannot guess that when you are 10-3.’

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Taylor enjoying BPL

Admin — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 12:54:57 +0000

Brendan Taylor said he is enjoying the Bangladesh Premier League as he is among the top run-getters with 249 for the Chittagong Kings after a scintillating start to the campaign.
Taylor, captain of the Zimbabwe national side, has struck three fifties so far with a strike rate of 125 and the wicketkeeper-batsman is now second in the scorers’ list among foreigners.
‘I am enjoying it as it is a thoroughly competitive tournament,’ Taylor told reporters on Wednesday. ‘I have been here for quite some time and the boys looked after us pretty well and they made us homely. I’m quite enjoying it.’
Taylor was made captain of Kings after Mahmudullah had stepped down and the right-hander overnight changed the fortune of the struggling side, leading them to crushing wins in their last two matches.
Besides his shrewd work behind the stumps, Taylor also contributed heavily with the bat in their eight-wicket and 54-run wins, respectively over Khulna Royal Bengals and Dhaka Gladiators.
Taylor, who is the highest run-scorer for his side, has now a crucial role to play if his side are to progress to the semi-finals in a tight race where all seven franchises have some kind of chance.
‘In the BPL it’s been excellent [for me],’ said Taylor. Still a lot of cricket to go but it is important to keep the momentum going. As a whole team we all need to come up and give some key performances for a place in the semi-final.’
Other than Taylor, who averaged 49.80 from seven matches, some other Zimbabwean cricketers like Elton Chigumbura and Hamilton Mazakadza are also plying their trade in the BPL and tasting some success.
Taylor attributed the success to their familiarity with the Bangladesh condition and their relatively better skill with the new ball. He said: ‘Possibly [it is happening] because they have a better understanding. A lot of Zimbabwean players are coming to bat at the top and that is because it is much easier with the new ball.
‘Seeing the Zimbabweans contributing is excellent but the pitches are going to be worn out and it would be turning, so as the tournament progresses it is going to be tougher.’
With some fine performances along the way, Taylor said he also has developed a good rapport with his team-mates.
His constant chirping behind the stumps help inspire his side when the chips are down and Taylor has admitted he shares a friendly relation with all of his team-mates.
‘I have developed some good friendships but some of the rivalry was pretty entertaining too. I am sure that will continue and we hope to remain good friends,’ he said.

-With New Age input

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SA batsman Miller joins Kings

Admin — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 12:50:08 +0000

South African middle-order batsman David Miller was added to the Chittagong Kings squad on Wednesday to boost the port-city outfit’s hopes of sealing a place in the semi-final.
Miller, who has played 18 one-day internationals and 11 Twenty20 matches for South Africa, arrived at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 3:30pm.
He has some familiarity with the Bangladeshi condition having toured the country in 2010 with the South Africa A team.
Kings’ New Zealand all-rounder Jacob Oram will be leaving today to be with his family as his child underwent an operation, said the franchise in a media release.

-With New Age input

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