Rikki Clarke returns to where he started with Surrey move

Rikki Clarke, the former England allrounder, is to re-join Surrey on a two-year deal.Clarke started his career at Surrey in 2001 but moved to Derbyshire (an ill-fated stay that lasted a few months in 2008) and then on to Warwickshire, where he has played the most consistent cricket of his career.While he has remained a key part of Warwickshire’s squad in all three formats of the game, he was unable to secure the long-term deal he wanted and has been talking to other clubs for a few weeks. It speaks volumes for his fitness that he has won a two-year deal at such a big club at the age of 35. He will be 38 by the time the deal expires.Surrey see him as back-up for the Curran brothers – Tom and Sam – should they win England call-ups or suffer injury,It is possible Dominic Sibley could be heading in the other direction. While Surrey have offered him a three-year deal and remain hopeful he will stay, Warwickshire are one of a host of clubs who have shown an interest in signing him.Warwickshire followed up by announcing the signing of Somerset’s Adam Hose with immediate effect.Ashley Giles, Warwickshire’s sport director, said: “Adam has impressed for Somerset across all three forms of the game this year; grinding out runs under pressure in the Specsavers County Championship victory over Yorkshire and contributing game-changing innings at an exceptional run-rate in white ball cricket.”Having joined the club with immediate effect, he will be available for this weekend’s NatWest T20 Blast fixtures and can play a very important role for the team as we bid to reach the knockout stages for the third time in four seasons.”I have spoken previously about our transformation process and our aim to rebuild a squad that competes in all competitions. At 24-years-old, Adam will have the opportunity to be part of Warwickshire and Birmingham Bears teams for many years.”

Zimbabwe level series courtesy Cremer's five-wicket haul

Scorecard and ball-by-ball updates1:41

‘Maybe we needed to lose first game’ – Cremer

Zimbawe’s spin-bowling attack capitalized on an overeager batting approach with captain Graeme Cremer’s 5 for 29 doing the bulk of the damage to wipe out Scotland for 169 in 42 overs. Sikandar Raza’s composed half-century anchored the Zimbabwe chase to clinch a six-wicket win for the tourists at the Grange with 78 balls to spare. It meant the series finished deadlocked at 1-1, with hosts Scotland failing to complete a landmark series win against a Full Member team.When Cremer had Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer stumped for 61 in the 22nd over, it seemed at the time to be a minor speed bump with Scotland comfortable at 106 for 2. But when Calum MacLeod was bowled six overs later by Sean Williams for 58 – while exposing his stumps on an attempted back foot punch – the floodgates were opened and Cremer raided the middle order for his second five-wicket haul.Williams’ figures might appear understated on the scorecard after he ended with 2 for 26, but he played a crucial role – coming on in the fourth over – after Zimbabwe’s opening pace attack was battered by Coetzer for three fours and a six to race to 27 for 0. Williams began with a maiden to Matthew Cross, thereby foreshadowing the role that spin would play to reel Scotland’s scoring rate back under control. Cross continued to struggle, trying to get Williams away in the sixth, but the pressure resulted in him backing away for a carve to the off-side only to see his off-stump sent cartwheeling.Coetzer and MacLeod added 71 for the second wicket as Williams came off once the Powerplay concluded. The pair milked Chris Mpofu’s medium pace for easy runs and Coetzer soon reached his eighth ODI fifty off 45 balls in the 15th over. His innings ended soon after though, when he stepped down the pitch to flick Cremer through the leg side, only to miss it completely and the wicketkeeper Peter Moor did the rest. MacLeod carried on to notch his third ODI half-century in the 25th when he cut Raza’s offspin through point for back-to-back fours. But when MacLeod fell in the 28th to Williams, it triggered a collapse that saw Scotland lose their last eight wickets for 34 runs.Richie Berrington first walked too far across his stumps before missing a flick as Cremer trapped him lbw in the 29th over. Then, a miscued flick to mid-off by Con De Lange, to start the 31st, put Cremer on a hat-trick and he completed the over gaining his second lbw decision, although the dismissed Preston Mommsen appeared to be struck quite high.Rather than go into a shell at 141 for 6 in 31 overs, having just lost 4 for 6, Scotland kept the faith in coach Grant Bradburn’s mantra of maintaining aggressive intent. But wickets fell regardless. The always adventurous Craig Wallace stayed true to form by going for a reverse sweep against Cremer but missed and the stumps were rattled once again to give Zimbabwe’s captain his fifth scalp.With Williams’ quota done, Raza came back to help wipe out the tail. Josh Davey was lbw prodding forward before Alasdair Evans edged behind as the ninth wicket. Raza and Cremer were done with their bowling quota by the 41st, but the captain stayed with spin by tossing the ball to Ryan Burl to bowl his first over in ODI cricket. The over concluded with Burl’s maiden scalp to end the innings as Chris Sole missed a swipe across the line to be bowled for 2, leaving eight overs unused and Michael Leask stranded on 11, the only player outside the top three to reach double-figures.Zimbabwe were required to bat 45 minutes before lunch was taken and, like Scotland, got off to a hot start in their first few overs before Sole, who began his spell with 11 dot balls and two wickets – gave them a scare. With the score at 30 for no loss after four overs, Sole struck with his first ball, snaring Solomon Mire with a gloved pull for a leg-side catch to Cross. He then tested Hamilton Masakadza early in the seventh over with the short ball too, until the opener fell fending a catch at backward point to make it 31 for 2.Sole prised out one more before the interval – the short ball working again – as Williams creamed a cut but picked out backward point to make it 44 for 3 in 10.3 overs. The break, though, arrived at the right time for Zimbabwe and they came out far more assured when play resumed with Craig Ervine and Raza adding 55 runs for the fourth wicket.Sikandar Raza hit seven fours during his unbeaten 58•Peter Della Penna

Scotland’s chances of defending the total were severely hampered when vice-captain de Lange bowled just two overs before leaving the field after completing the 17th over. The left-arm spinner had taken his maiden five-for in the first ODI but Coetzer said after the match that de Lange could not continue due to a migraine headache.With de Lange out, MacLeod was brought on to bowl part-time spin but was ineffective, finishing with 0 for 21 in five overs. Davey bowled a controlled spell of medium pace at the other end in a bid to keep pressure on and managed to beat Ervine driving for 30. But Raza continued on with Burl, teaming for a 72-run stand to seal victory. While Burl finished unbeaten on 30, Raza struck the winning boundary through midwicket to end on an unbeaten 58 for his seventh ODI half-century.Zimbabwe leave Sunday morning for the Netherlands where the first of three one-dayers takes place in Amstelveen on June 20, before they continue on to Sri Lanka for the start of a five-ODI, single-Test tour beginning June 30. Meanwhile, Scotland’s home summer fixture-list is over before the arrival of the June 21 solstice. Their next series isn’t until October, when they tour Papua New Guinea for two ODIs in the WCL Championship and a four-day Intercontinental Cup match.

Injury ends Bismah Maroof's World Cup

Bismah Maroof, Pakistan’s second-most experienced player in ODIs, has been ruled out of the ongoing Women’s World Cup due to a hand injury. She has been replaced in the squad by allrounder Iram Javed.Maroof had hurt herself in the field on Tuesday when England thrashed Pakistan by 107 runs. A capable middle-order batsman – 11 fifties at an average of 26 – her loss has come at a difficult time, with her team at the bottom of the points table with no wins in two matches.Nevertheless, it represented an opportunity for the 25-year old Iram, who has played only seven ODIs since her debut in 2013. She has scored 37 runs and has taken three wickets with her seam bowling. She last played 50-over cricket for Pakistan in November 2016.The ICC’s event technical committee – comprising Geoff Allardice (ICC, chairman), Campbell Jamieson (ICC representative), Steve Elworthy (Tournament Director), Alan Fordham (host representative), Anjum Chopra and Alison Mitchell (both independent nominees) – has approved the change.Pakistan squad: Sana Mir (capt), Asmavia Iqbal, Ayesha Zafar, Diana Baig, Ghulam Fatima, Iram Javed, Javeria Khan, Kainat Imtiaz, Marina Iqbal, Nahida Khan, Nain Abidi, Nashra Sandhu, Sadia Yousuf, Sidra Nawaz (wk), Waheeda Akhtar

Worcestershire unbeaten record falls at Hove

ScorecardSussex handed Worcestershire their first Specsavers County Championship defeat of the season after wrapping up an innings victory at Hove.The Sussex seam attack took advantage of a pitch offering plenty of uneven bounce on the final day to dismiss Worcestershire for 260 50 minutes after lunch and complete their second win of the season by an innings and seven runs.Sussex looked like winning a lot earlier after taking two wickets in the first five overs after Worcestershire resumed on 124 for 4, still needing 143 runs to make their hosts bat again.Vernon Philander produced a brute of a ball that climbed and left Ben Cox which the batsman touched to second slip.

‘We can match anyone’ – Nash

“Worcestershire are a good side but I think when we get it together we are a match for anyone in this division,” said Sussex’s captain Chris Nash after their victory.
“It was a really good team performance. We know that if we can get runs on the board we have a bowling attack who are going to make life hard for any side.
“We just need to find that consistency now. We’ve won two games and if we can win a couple more before the T20 starts we’ll be in a good position. There is still a lot of Championship cricket to be played.”

Worcestershire had added just four runs to their overnight score when they lost their sixth wicket as Jofra Archer, generating good pace from the Sea End, nipped one back onto nightwatchman Josh Tongue’s off stump.Worcestershire were 128 for 6 at that stage but seventh-wicket pair Ross Whiteley and Ed Barnard frustrated Sussex for the rest of the morning session as they added 79 in 25 overs.Whiteley was twice reprieved by Sussex skipper Chris Nash at second slip, first off Philander and then Archer, and both batsmen were struck on the body by short-of-a-length deliveries which rose sharply.With rain forecast, Worcestershire began the afternoon session confident of saving the game but in the first over after the resumption Stiaan van Zyl drew Barnard forward and a thin edge was taken by wicketkeeper Michael Burgess.Whiteley went to 50, from 102 balls with eight fours, but after adding three more runs his brave resistance ended when David Wiese, armed with the new ball, cut one back off the seam to find the edge.Philander cleverly held one back and Joe Leach drove to mid-on and the South African secured victory when he had Jack Shantry held at second slip.Sussex take 23 points and Worcestershire 4 and it was a much-needed win for the hosts as they look to claw back the early advantage established by Nottinghamshire and Kent at the top of the second division.Chris Nash’s term as Sussex captain began with victory [file picture]•Getty Images

Root enjoys rewarding Champions Trophy warm-up

ScorecardJoe Root and his younger brother Billy had fielded together for England•Getty Images

Joe Root began his preparations for the ICC Champions Trophy with his highest and, he felt, best List A innings for Yorkshire to help them to a comfortable victory at Trent Bridge.In a match containing 18 international players, and eight in Champions Trophy squads, Root provided the definitive contribution: an hurried, unfussy and unbeaten innings of 75.In a game where only one other man made 50 and against an attack containing five international bowlers, he was calm and restrained. Against three bowlers who are likely to feature in the Ashes later in the year, he made batting look easy.In truth, this was an anti-climactic encounter. On a ground where the average score in this competition last year was an eye-watering 385, Nottinghamshire provided a reminder of the reasons they were relegated in the County Championship with a feckless batting performance that saw them bowled out with more than nine overs of their allocation unused. Their total was 200 below last year’s average and every bit of 100 below par on a slow and perhaps slightly two-paced surface.Just for a moment, as Stuart Broad charged in from the Pavilion End, it seemed we might see a contest. But for all the pace he generated, for the immaculate length he bowled and for all the intimidating stares he aimed in Root’s direction – several of which were met by a bemused grin – there was no way past Root’s bat and no way to apply pressure with such a paltry score to defend.And, having largely seen off Broad and the accurate Jake Ball, he milked the rest with ease. Shortly before the end he reverse swept his brother Billy Root, a spinner with a hint of Murali in his action, for four and then pulled him for six to complete the victory with more than 17 overs to spare.The pair, who had never faced each other in county cricket – although they have fielded together for England when Billy fulfilled 12th man duties – travelled to and from the game together. After the six had landed, they exchanged a hug. Joe will play the next two Cup games for Yorkshire before departing on England duty. Billy, a terrific fielder and more than competent batsman if his List A debut against Worcestershire on Thursday is any indication, may struggle to retain his place if Steven Mullaney, who missed this game with a foot injury, is fit to return next week.”It was a horrible situation,” Root senior said of his treatment of Root junior in the dying moments of the game. “I do feel guilty, but you’ve got to be professional. I know he’d have done the same to me if I’d been bowling. I might suggest on the way home he doesn’t bowl too many half-trackers.”Stuart bowled really well, with good pace. I think he was trying to create a bit of theatre, but it’s hard to take it seriously when you know someone that well.”Playing against this attack is about as close to international cricket as you get. It probably was my best one-day innings for Yorkshire. We were very clinical all day. It was a good, ruthless performance.”The result gives Yorkshire a perfect start to their white-ball season but means Nottinghamshire have lost both their opening matches in this competition. Bearing in mind that the team which qualified for the quarter-finals last year suffered a maximum of three losses from their eight games and the fact that this year’s qualification process – involving a play-off to reach the semi-finals – is even more stringent and you might conclude that Nottinghamshire have, already, left themselves little margin for further error.Yorkshire’s bowlers deserve credit for applying pressure. Liam Plunkett, who didn’t concede a boundary until his eighth over, and Tim Bresnan, who struck Michael Lumb a blow on the thumb that saw him skip fielding in order to go for an X-ray, were especially impressive.But Nottinghamshire would accept that there was a lot of self-inflicted damage within their batting. Having negotiated the powerplay without much alarm (they were 43 for 0 after 10 overs) Alex Hales chipped Azeem Rafiq’s first delivery straight back to him, Lumb pulled a long-hop to mid-wicket and Samit Patel pulled another long-hop to mid-on.Riki Wessels and Brendan Taylor rebuilt sensibly during a fourth-wicket stand of 65 but when Wessels clipped a leg-stump half-volley to deep backward square, it precipitated a sharp decline.Root, arguably the only man in the top six to be dismissed, edged one angled across him, Taylor picked out deep mid-wicket and James Pattinson was run-out having presumed, wrongly as it transpired, that his drive had beaten Rafiq at short extra-cover. The image of Broad, last man out and caught on the boundary despite having 55 unused deliveries, rather summed up the somewhat overly aggressive nature of the innings.Broad struck with his first ball in reply – Jonny Bairstow shuffling in front of a straight one – but the result was hardly in doubt. Adam Lyth took three boundaries off Pattinson’s first over in reply and, although Lyth fell pulling, Root was not to be denied. It was, perhaps surprisingly, only his third List A half-century for Yorkshire. It was also only his 17th innings.Having caressed Broad for boundary through mid-on – his on drive perhaps the highlight of the day – Root eased him off his hip for four more. He only scored off seven of the 22 balls he faced from Broad (four singles and a two completing the picture), but he recognised that seeing him off was more important than seeing him punished and showed the composure and maturity that was lacking in the Notts innings.”Their bowlers created some pressure and we had a few soft dismissals,” Taylor admitted afterwards. “They made it difficult to score, for sure, but 180 is never going to be enough at Trent Bridge. I’d think 260-270 was on the cards on that pitch.”Yorkshire face Lancashire at Leeds on Monday, meaning Root will face, as he put it, “another grumpy fast bower” – in the presence this time of James Anderson. He will then face Mark Wood and co. when Yorkshire host Durham on Wednesday.The pitches may not be quite as quick as those we anticipate in the Champions Trophy, but the level of competition isn’t far short. It bodes pretty well for England that Root, at least, is finding his form.

BCCI office bearers not to heed CoA directives

The BCCI office bearers have told the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) that they will not heed the directives curtailing their decision-making powers that were issued last week. The office bearers also said it would not be possible to postpone the BCCI’s special general body meeting (SGM) on April 9, as directed by the CoA.Late on March 26, the CoA issued a set of directives, reminding the BCCI office bearers that they could not take independent decisions without the committee’s permission.On Monday, three of the board’s office bearers – Amitabh Choudhary (joint-secretary), Anirudh Chaudhry (treasurer) and CK Khanna (vice-president) – met members of the CoA in Mumbai. Both parties discussed the court orders issued since January this year to ascertain the powers of the office bearers. Later in the evening, the office bearers sent an email to the CoA stating they were governed by the BCCI’s existing constitution and not the CoA.Despite staunch opposition from the BCCI to adopting the Lodha Committee’s recommendations, the CoA stressed it would not confront the states and instead communicate to sort out the hurdles. The office bearers, too, said they were not against the CoA: “Our intention is to work with the CoA in an amicable and constructive manner whilst exercising our duties.”The CoA was told that majority of the BCCI members – state associations – wanted to discuss the fallout from the court orders at the SGM. Consequently, Choudhary, at the direction of Khanna – the acting BCCI president, since he is the most senior vice-president – convened the SGM on April 9 in Mumbai. The CoA then asked the SGM to be deferred.The office bearers, however, declined to put off the SGM and told the CoA it was free to attend the SGM in person or via video conferencing.”With regard to the request for change in date of the SGM made in today’s meeting as well as in the subsequent email, the same can hardly be effected by us in view of the nature of the requisition by a majority of the General Body and its notice having already been issued to over three dozen members.”The office bearers also said it was “inconceivable” to expect them to share the decisions taken by any of the BCCI committees with the CoA, as it had directed. “However, the undersigned can assure you that the decisions of the General Body will undoubtedly be in line with the best interests of the BCCI and would not be in violation of Court orders.”The office bearers objected to the CoA uploading the amended BCCI constitution, which complied with the Lodha Committee’s recommendations, on the board’s website. This action, the office bearers said, was misleading only because the BCCI had not adopted the new constitution. “The proposed constitution as put up on the website has been unfortunately put in a way that has misled a substantial part of the cricket fraternity into believing that the same has been adopted and brought into force which is admittedly not the case.”The office bearers also clarified the court had never imposed an age cap of 70 on members of any of the board’s committees. That restriction was only mandatory for the office bearers at both the BCCI and state associations.

Fire alarm forces stoppage in Dunedin

A fire alarm prompted a full ground evacuation at the University Oval, where play was stopped for 20 minutes in the third session. There was neither imminent danger nor any damage caused after steam caused the alarm to go off in the grandstand, which was the first to be emptied. Spectators, numbering 3296, were asked to leave their seats and dispatched to the rims of the ground while players and match officials were sent onto the field while the cause of the alarm was investigated.Within minutes of the alarm being sounded, a fire engine arrived on the scene but it was not needed. The grass banks were the next to be cleared out before the buildings on the northern end of the ground, which includes the television commentary team, were also cleared onto the adjacent rugby field.Although the exact cause of the steam is not yet known, the situation was quickly assessed as being under control and fans were allowed back in. With heavy cloud cover and cool temperatures, not as many of them returned, putting a damper on what had been well-attended, albeit feisty, day at the ground.None of the players were too perturbed by the interruption although both sides lamented the loss of the crowd,after they were allowed back in. “The biggest shame was that the crowd left and it was quite a good atmosphere,” BJ Watling, New Zealand’s wicket-keeper said.South Africa have been involved in some unusual breaks in play recently – the ODI against Sri Lanka last month was stopped after a bee invasion – but of the players, Keshav Maharaj has seen a fire alarm stoppage before. “It was on a South Africa A tour to Australia last year, we were sitting in the change room and the fire alarm went off. So I guess it was nothing new to me,” he said.Earlier in the day, some spectators were ushered out by security officials for being too rowdy while on day two, 35 people were ejected for the same reason.

'Chasing 200 a lot easier than chasing 120' – Pietersen

Kevin Pietersen said he was unperturbed by a string of low scores at the start of the 2017 PSL, but was pleased that when he did strike big – with an unbeaten 42-ball 88 – it came in a winning cause. With his knock, Quetta Gladiators beat Lahore Qalandars by five wickets chasing 201 on Saturday.While explaining the thought process behind his innings, Pietersen also said that he found chasing a big target preferable to smaller ones. “When you’re chasing 200, it’s a lot easier than 120 because you can set targets,” Pietersen said. “When you’re chasing 200 you’ve just got to keep going and going and going. I think understanding the game in terms of making sure you still get yourself in [matters] and that gives you a chance to go on.”Quetta had lost both openers by the fifth over with the score on 24. However, a 57-run partnership for the third wicket between Rilee Rossouw and Pietersen managed to keep the required rate from going too high. Once Rossouw fell, Sarfraz Ahmed and Pietersen added 101 for the fifth wicket, with the Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman contributing 45 off 25 balls. Quetta took 47 off the 17th and 18th overs with Pietersen striking six sixes in that time to decimate Lahore’s attack. His entire innings included eight sixes and three fours.Pietersen’s PSL campaign began with 3, 0 and 0 but he wasn’t fussed, coming off a successful Big Bash League season with the Melbourne Stars, finishing eighth on the tournament’s run charts with 268.Kevin Pietersen had scores of 3, 0 and 0 in his first few innings in the 2017 PSL before his blitz on Saturday•PCB

“I’ve come off a Big Bash where I’ve top-scored, so a couple of low scores don’t bother me,” Pietersen said. “It bothers a lot of other people talking about the game but it doesn’t bother me.”I do the processes the way that I’ve always done my processes, and I think about the game the way I’ve always done it, and if I’m successful, I’m successful. No one deserves success in life, you have got to work for it. You have got to enjoy it and, in life and in sport, you have more bad days than you have good days, and I’ve just proved that. It doesn’t mean I’m going to get runs for the rest of the tournament but it’s nice that we’ve got a victory.”First ball anyone can get out actually because you’re in there and it can happen so quickly. I get cross with myself if I get myself in and then I get out because then I don’t think I should get out.”Pietersen recently opted out of IPL 2017, citing a busy winter season. He said he had not reconsidered the decision, given that he is keen to spend more time with his family.”No mate, I’m done. I’m going to play the next week or so and then I’m done,” he said. “I’ll think about what I’ll do in the summer but at the moment I need to spend time with my family and kids. Cricket is not everything to me. I’ve got a young family and your family only grows up one. If I’m going to spend two months away from my daughter who is one year old… No, not interested.”

Zimbabwe's first-class competition set to resume next week

Zimbabwe’s domestic first-class competition, the Logan Cup, is set to resume from January 17. Only one match of the four-team, 12-round tournament has been completed so far, after player strikes and non-payment of salaries affected the games after the first round.The second round of the tournament was originally scheduled to be held between January 5 and 8, and these matches will be played from January 17. The tournament has been postponed three times this season.First, the tournament began a week later than scheduled after which the third day of the first-round match between Mid West Rhinos and Matabeleland Tuskers was delayed as players refused to take the field over the issue of non-payment of salaries. The domestic players, not nationally-contracted ones, led the strike because they were left without pay. The nationally-contracted players had received salaries, but the domestic players were only remunerated for one month instead of a promised two. The other match in the first round, between Mountaineers and Mashonaland Eagles, was abandoned without a ball bowled.Zimbabwe Cricket, in a press release issued on Friday, said that disruption of the first-round match happened after “an unfortunate misunderstanding over provincial salaries”.”Some players on provincial contracts were not happy when their December salaries were delayed because the provinces they represent had not submitted their paperwork in time for the Zimbabwe Cricket secretariat to include them on the December payroll together with the other players on central contracts and non-playing staff,” the board said. “All salaries are now up to date.”

Sammy's blitz eliminates Chittagong


Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDarren Sammy hammered an unbeaten 55 to complete Rajshahi’s come-from-behind win•Raton Gomes/BCB

Darren Sammy blitzed a 27-ball 55 to lead Rajshahi Kings to the second qualifier after they beat Chittagong Vikings by three wickets in Mirpur. Rajshahi recovered from 57 for 6 to chase down 143 in 18.3 overs after Sammy put on 37 and 49 with Mehedi Hasan and Farhad Reza respectively. Chittagong were knocked out of the competition.Sammy cracked Mohammad Nabi for three fours in the 12th over to get the chase rolling again. Mehedi’s needless run-out in the 15th over dented their progress, but Sammy smashed three fours past point in the next over, bowled by Subhasis Roy. Sammy reached his second fifty of the tournament with a straight six off Nabi, before Farhad struck two fours to seal the chase.Sammy was unbeaten on 55 with seven fours and two sixes, while Farhad struck three fours in his 11-ball 19. As soon as he struck the winning runs, the Rajshahi players celebrated in their unique style of pretending to take group photos and selfies.Chittagong, though, lost their way towards the end of their innings where they lost 30 runs in the last 5.1 overs. The top order had set a strong platform and a strengthened batting line-up was unable to capitalise. Chittagong included Dwayne Smith as an opener, pushing Chris Gayle to No. 3, just the sixth time he has not opened a T20 innings.After fast bowler Kesrick Williams had Smith caught at slip in the third over, Gayle launched five sixes, four over the straight boundary. However, Gayle chipped a full toss off James Franklin to long-on, which began Rajshahi’s comeback. His 44 came off 30 balls.Shoaib Malik and Tamim Iqbal, who made a record equalling sixth fifty in the BPL, lofted catches into the cover region before Mohammad Nabi was brilliantly run out by a Sabbir Rahman throw from the deep midwicket boundary in the penultimate over.In the same over, Williams removed Abdur Razzak and Taskin Ahmed to complete his second four-wicket haul in T20s.