Bangabandhu Cup T20, 2020 
12th Match
BEXIMCO Dhaka VS MINISTER GROUP Rajshahi 
Played at SBNCS, Dhaka on 4 December 2020 

Beximco Dhaka 175/5 (Yasir Ali Rabbi 67, Akbar Ali 45, Mushfiqur Rahim 37) beat Minister Group Rajshahi 150 All Out in 19.1 Over (Fazle Mahmood 58, Rony Talukdar 40, Muktar Ali 4/37, Shafiqul 3/31) by 25 Runs. 

One of the pre-tournament favorites Dhaka losing three games on the trot in round one was languishing at the bottom. They got a sigh of relief winning their last group match against another poor performing team Barisal in the last match.

Yesterday in their first match of round two they avenged the defeat against Rajshahi of the first round beating them by 25 runs playing aggressive cricket. It has however third consecutive loss of Rajshahi. 

Batting first Dhaka scored impressive 175/5 in their allotted overs. Then good bowling by Mukhtar Ali (4/37) and Shafiqul (3/31) earned them life line victory of 25 runs. 

Matches after matches’ teams were struggling scoring runs on slow low gripping wickets. But yesterday runs started flowing as in two matches scores in excess of 170 were seen as great relief for cricket admirers. Back to back three losses of Dhaka in round one surprised many. Admirers have all sympathy for highly talented and most hard working Mushfiqur Rahim. Few believed that it is matter of time Dhaka would start blazing. That faith, that believe has started coming true. Put into bat yesterday Dhaka was struggling a bit in the initial overs. Naeem Hasan returned after scoring only 3. Mohammad Naim ((9) and Tanzid Tamim (2) also did not last long. 
Mushfique however scored 37 playing 29 deliveries. Losing 4 wickets for 64 runs Dhaka was in a bit of bother when Yasir Ali Rabbi (67) and Akbar Ali (45) let loose reign of terror. 100 runs were put together in the 5th wicket partnership taking the score to an impressive 175/5. Yasir’s innings of 67 contained 9 fours and a six. Akbar struck 3 fours and 2 sixes.

Chasing 176 for Rajshahi became extremely difficult after losing three top order batsmen including Nazmul Shanto and Mohammad Ashraful within 15 runs. However, Fazle Mahmood (58) and Rony Talukdar (40) adding 67 runs for the 4th wicket created some excitements. Fazle struck 5 fours and 3 sixes in his innings spreading over 40 deliveries. Rony scored 40 in 24 deliveries with 3 sixes and a four. Rajshahi could reach 150 before getting all out in 19.1 overs. Mukhtar Ali (4/37) and Shafiqul (3/31) were the main wreckers of Rajshahi batting. 

Good teams perform as the tournament progresses. Dhaka seems to have found the winning formula. On the other hand, Rajshahi appears to have lost the winning momentum. The boys from Silk City have to smarten if they want to go deep into the tournament. Unfortunately, Ashraful is looking panicky with the bat. 

BDST: 1212 HRS, DEC 05, 2020
SMS