DHAKA, Bangladesh, CMC – West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell struck a cameo and grabbed a brace of wickets to help fire Rajshahi Royals to the capture of the Bangladesh Premier League title, with a 21-run victory over Khulna Tigers here yesterday.
Sent in at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Royals tallied 170 for four off their 20 overs with wicketkeeper Irfan Sukkur top-scoring with 52 off 35 deliveries and Mohammad Nawaz hammering a 20-ball unbeaten 41.
Russell joined in with an unbeaten 27 from just 16 balls while opener Liton Das gathered a patient 25 from 28 deliveries.
In reply, Russell picked up two for 32 from four excellent overs as Tigers were restricted to 149 for eight off their 20 overs, to come up short in their run chase.
Shamsur Rahman stroked 52 from 43 deliveries, South African Rilee Roussouw got 37 and Mushfiqur Rahim, 21, but Russell combined with fellow seamers Mohammed Irfan (2-18) and Kamrul Islam (2-29) to hurt the innings.
The victory compensated for Russell’s heartbreak last season when he was part of the Dhaka Dynamites side which lost the 2018-19 final to Comilla Victorians.
Yesterday, Royals were set back early when they lost Afif Hossain cheaply for 10 in the third over but Sukkur and Das combined in a 49-run second wicket stand to settle the innings.
The left-handed Sukkur, who blasted half-dozen fours and two sixes, put on a further 31 for the third wicket with Pakistan’s Shoaib Malik (9) before he was dismissed in the 15th over.
At that stage, Royals were labouring at 99 for four and in need of a boost and got it through fireworks from Russell and Nawaz who added 71 off 34 balls in an unbroken fifth wicket partnership.
While Russell clobbered three sixes, Nawaz counted six fours and two sixes as Royals finished strongly.
In reply, Tigers were floundering on 11 for two in the second over before Shamsur and Roussouw pulled the run chase around in a 74-run second wicket stand.
Shamsur struck four fours and two sixes while Roussouw notched a four and a six but once their stand was broken, Russell made key strikes to put the contest in Royals favour.
