CHATTOGRAM, Bangladesh, CMC – All-rounder Andre Russell snatched a hat-trick and then struck a cameo but West Indies teammates, Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine, both failed to score as star-studded Dhaka Dynamites slumped to their fourth straight defeat in the Bangladesh Premier League with an 11-run loss to Chittagong Vikings here yesterday.
Choosing to bat first, Vikings rallied to 174 for five from their 20 overs at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, with opener Cameron Delport slamming 71 off 57 balls and captain Mushfiqur Rahim getting 43 from 24 deliveries.
Deport put on 42 for the first wicket with Mohammad Shazad (21) and a further 46 for the second with Yasir Ali (19) before off-spinner Narine (2-20) broke both partnerships.
However, it was Deport’s 79-run, third wicket stand with Mushfiqur which really galvanised the innings, before Russell pulled things back in the final over with his hat-trick.
Off the first delivery, he first claimed Mushfiqur holing out to long on off a full toss and then prised out Delport to a catch also down the ground.
Dasun Shanaka scooped the first ball he faced to short fine leg to give Russell (3-38) the third hat-trick of the season.
In reply, Dhaka were struggling on 23 for three in the fourth over but captain Shakib-al-Hasan stroked 53 in a 50-run, fourth wicket stand with Nurul Hasan (33) to revive the innings.
Nurul perished in the 10th over and off the next ball, Pollard ran himself out needlessly off the first ball he faced.
Russell arrived to slam four fours and a couple of sixes in 39 off 23 balls, in a 66-run, sixth wicket partnership with Shakib, which looked like winning the game for Dhaka.
But Russell picked out Deport at deep mid-wicket with a full toss from seamer Shanaka in the 17th over, and the innings suffered from loss of momentum.
In the other match of the doubleheader, West Indies left-hander Nicholas Pooran extended his superb form with an unbeaten 76 for Sylhet Sixers but was unable to prevent Rajshahi Kings from taking a crucial five-wicket win.
Choosing to bat first, Sixers piled up an impressive 189 for five with Pooran, batting at number five, lashing half-dozen fours and sixes in a sparkling 31-ball knock, to move his tally for the season to 379 runs at an average of 47.
In reply, Kings got a top score of 76 from Englishman Laurie Evans as they romped to their target with two overs to spare.
West Indies opener Johnson Charles chipped in with 39 off 26 balls.
The defeat for Dhaka saw them drop out of the playoff places into fifth on 10 points while Sixers remained one from bottom in the seven-team standings on eight points.
