Shanaka hits 23-ball fifty as Warriors beat Rangers

Cumilla Warriors defeated Rangpur Rangers by 105 runs as Dasun Shanaka shone on Wednesday at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium with a 23-ball fifty in the Bangladesh Premier League (BBPL).

The toss was won by the Warriors who decided to bat first. They lost the first wicket when Mohammad Nabi bowled Yasir Ali for a duck in the very first ball of the match.

In the second wicket stand, however, Soumya Sarkar and Bhanuka Rajapaksa added 42 runs to control the Warriors initial damage.

With four fours and one six, Soumya dropped for 26 off 18, while Rajapaksa posted 15.

The highlight of their innings, however, was Shanaka's riveting bowling. He smashed Mustafizur Rahman in the 19th over that helped Warriors posting a challenging total for four consecutive sixes. With nine sixes and three fours, Shanaka remained unbeaten on 75 off 31.

Two wickets were bagged for the Rangers by Mustafizur, Sanjit Shaha and Lewis Gregory.

In response, Rangers crashed in 14 overs for 68 all-outs. Mohammad Shahzad (13), Mohammad Naim (17) and Mohammad Nabi (11) hit two-digit averages, but their efforts to avoid defeat were not adequate for the Rangers.

Al Amin Hossain bagged three wickets in three innings, conceding 14 runs, while Soumya and Sunzamul Islam scalped two wickets each.

In their next game on December 13 at 7:00 pm, the Warriors will take on Dhaka Platoon while the Rangers will face Chattogram Challengers on December 14 at 1:30 pm.