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Usman Khawaja is leaving BBL franchise Sydney Thunder so he can be closer to his family in Brisbane next summer.Khawaja said seeking a release from his contract with the Thunder was the toughest decision of his cricket career. His wife Rachel is expecting their second child, due in April this year.The 35-year-old, who was contracted by the Thunder until the end of the next BBL season, said he wants to spend more time in the Queensland capital with his family next summer.”It’s the toughest call I’ve made as a cricketer because Sydney Thunder…mean so much to me,” Khawaja said in a statement on Friday. “However, it is for family reasons.”And while I’m leaving, people who know me realise a big part of my heart will always remain with Thunder. I don’t want people to think I’ve cut my ties…because I’ll always care about the club, the players, the entire organisation.”Khawaja’s statement didn’t specify if he wanted to continue his BBL career with the Brisbane Heat.Khawaja, an inaugural Sydney Thunder player, is the franchise’s leading run-scorer with 1818 runs at a strike rate of almost 130.Cricket NSW’s head of male cricket, Michael Klinger, said Thunder had tabled a long-term contract extension to Khawaja.”It’s disappointing … Sydney Thunder and Cricket NSW definitely wanted him to stay and we offered a highly competitive contract,” Klinger said in a statement. “However we appreciate Usman’s decision has been made for his family, and we respect and support that.”Khawaja returned to Australia’s Test team during the 4-0 Ashes series win against England and departs this weekend for a three-Test tour of Pakistan, the country of his birth.

Shakib Al Hasan is set to appear for Abahani Limited for the first time in six years on Saturday in their Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League match against Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club at the BKSP-3 ground.He arrived in Dhaka on Friday afternoon, having completed his IPL stint with Kolkata Knight Riders. But Shakib didn’t say much about the prospect of Saturday’s match, only confirming that he will be playing.Abahani, who have lost four out of eight games and are in seventh place on the points table – will welcome Shakib’s return.Shakib’s last appearance for Abahani, in the finale of the 2009-10 Dhaka Premier League, created a flutter. Shakib was blamed for losing a last-ball thriller to arch-rivals Mohammedan Sporting Club, with club officials and fans hounding him inside the Mirpur dressing room. Top Abahani officials, who had vowed never include Shakib again, signed him up at the players’ draft in April despite knowing about his prior commitment with Knight Riders.Shakib did not have a particularly fruitful IPL season this year, finishing with 114 runs at an average of 22.80 and a strike rate of 107.54. His five wickets cost 48.60 apiece, with an economy rate of 7.83. He wasn’t picked in the Eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad.”The team did well but from an individual point of view, I should have done better,” Shakib said. “My performance wasn’t to my satisfaction. I would have given my best if I had been picked for the last game, but it was the team’s decision and they took it in their best interests. So there’s no room to feel anything else.”This will also be the first time since the 2012-13 season when Shakib and Tamim Iqbal, Abahani’s captain, will play for the same club. The two are known to be good friends, and to have both in the same playing XI represents something of a coup in Bangladesh’s domestic cricket scene.

England’s increasingly proficient one-day side might well offer a beacon of hope for those looking for a distraction this week. England cricket fans knew the meaning of omnishambles long before it was added to the dictionary and might regard it as something of a perversity that, after the country’s footballers were put on ice by the smallest nation at Euro 2016 and as politicians continue exploring the realms beyond satire, it is their sport that provides a fleeting opportunity for optimism.It is not so long ago that England’s ODI players were sent packing from a major tournament to the accompaniment of boos and hisses, of course. Eoin Morgan is periodically asked to reflect on how far England have come since the 2015 World Cup and his responses to how the culture of the limited-overs teams has been changed, and where they can continue to improve, are typically well-rehearsed and emotion-free. Is it a stretch to suggest his cool captaincy and emphasis on collective enjoyment feels ever-so-slightly Icelandic?Morgan is no football fan, however, and England are one of the most well-resourced teams in cricket, so it is hard to make theirs an underdog story – no matter how mangy their one-day performances have been over the last couple of decades. England’s captain, who perhaps took slightly more of an interest during Ireland’s Euro 2016 defeat on Sunday, did concede that “emotions are probably running high with everybody around the country at the moment” but stopped short of endorsing the appointment of an Australian as Roy Hodgson’s successor.Coincidentally, Hodgson watched England’s cricketers train the last time they prepared for a match at The Oval (one they lost by an innings to Australia) but he has now joined Peter Moores and Stuart Lancaster in the most recent ranks of English coaching disaster. Morgan was more interested in Eddie Jones’ success in turning around the rugby team – “it’s been phenomenal to watch a whitewash against Australia on home soil” – but eventually talk turned to his ongoing project alongside Trevor Bayliss in improving England’s ODI stocks.A tie at Trent Bridge, where Liam Plunkett’s last-ball six salvaged a game that appeared lost, was followed by more consummate displays in both disciplines at Edgbaston and another solid bowling performance, before the rain arrived to wipe out any chance of a result at Bristol. That means England still need to win one of the final two matches to secure the series – and they may come up against the weather again at The Oval, with a poor forecast for the afternoon.”It’s very important we work hard, they are a strong side, we don’t take them for granted,” Morgan said. “The series still stands at 1-0, given we’ve played some really good cricket and not been able to capitalise because of the weather. Tomorrow again it is going to be tough to get it to that point but it’s important to emphasise the hard work that needs to be put in.”As England have broken records with regularity over the last 12 months, it has been the batsmen that have taken the plaudits – most recently with Alex Hales and Jason Roy knocking off the highest successful chase for a team winning by ten wickets.However, the bowling has stood out so far in this series, with Sri Lanka limited to totals of 286 for 9, 254 for 7 and 248 for 9. England have got by on five specialist bowlers in each match, with Joe Root contributing three overs of back-up spin, and while Morgan said he would prefer to have more options – such as when Ben Stokes has been fit to play as an allrounder in the top six – results had been encouraging.”At the moment it has worked, ideally we would have more but our strength has been our batting and to stick with that sends quite a lot of confidence through the changing room,” Morgan said of the team’s balance.”It throws it over to the bowlers, more responsibility on them and they have done pretty well with it. Sometimes if you go in with six out-and-out bowlers it can be off the pace a little bit, when you pack your team with batters and if they play poorly you wonder if they rely too much on other people. It’s a balance you just have to stay with what you feel is right for the team.”England have become more accustomed to viewing the limited-overs formats as a squad game and Morgan said there were still plenty of options to consider ahead of next year’s Champions Trophy. Steven Finn has yet to play a game in the series – in part thanks to Liam Plunkett’s strong form – and Stuart Broad’s name continues to linger at edge of selectoral discussions.Meanwhile, a combination of poor batting, good batting (from Hales and Roy) and poor weather, means that Morgan, Root and Jonny Bairstow have had little opportunity for time in the middle. For that reason, as well as the desire to avoid going to Cardiff still only 1-0 up, England will hope the rain stays away over south London on Wednesday. As Hodgson, who led his team through a perfect qualifying campaign for Euro 2016, would attest, you can never be too well prepared for the challenges ahead.”There is a lot of talk going into tournaments about knowing your best 11 but its more than that. A guy goes down in the first game, must-win, it’s more than having 11 – it’s how big your squad is. When you turn to guys at certain stages of a tournament you have got to be able to trust them, it’s not just your best team, but best squad.”

Scorecard1:40

‘Amir has only got better’ – Masood

If there were any doubts about Mohammad Amir’s preparedness for a return to Test cricket, he has gone a long way towards dispelling them in Taunton with an incisive spell of top-class swing bowling.Amir claimed three top-order wickets in a performance that demonstrated sharp pace, even sharper movement and impressive control to suggest that, whatever else has happened since the last time we saw him bowl in England, his extravagant skills remain undimmed.Such is notoriety surrounding Amir – his talent as much as his fall from grace – that it might be forgotten that he goes into this tour with much to prove. This was his first first-class game of the year and only his fifth in almost six years. The last time he played at the top level he was just 18. Amir child, if you will. He has questions to answer, to himself as much as anyone, about his stamina, fitness and ability to block out the distractions and overcome the challenges that await.And it is true he may face tougher opposition and more hostile environments than he faced here. At Taunton he was greeted with warm applause when it was announced he was to bowl – it was never likely to be any other way – and then confronted by two top-order batsmen as green as The Quantocks and one who seems to have been around as long as them.But it is doubtful it would have mattered who was at the other end. The delivery that accounted for Marcus Trescothick, a beauty on off stump that demanded a stroke before swinging away late to take the edge of his bat, would have troubled any left-handed batsman in any era. Alastair Cook faces quite a challenge this summer.And while the doubters might suggest a more experienced player than Adam Hose – on first-class debut – might have kept out the ball that brought Amir his next wicket, it’s worth noting that Hose is only a year younger than Amir. Having played pretty well for half-an-hour, Hose saw Amir go round the wicket and swing one back in sharply to take his off stump. He will never have faced bowing of such quality and he may never again after this match. This was a desperately tough baptism.But the best delivery of the lot was reserved for Peter Trego. Back over the wicket, Amir pitched the ball just outside off stump and persuaded it to swing back, through the gate and send Trego’s middle stump cartwheeling. It was, by any standards, beautiful bowling. And, on a benign pitch offering him little, suggested he could prove devastating if England gamble with the sort of surfaces they utilised so effectively against Australia last year.”He swung the ball really late,” Trescothick said. “You get a lot of bowlers who swing it quite early but he was swinging it late. That bit of extra pace is the thing. He hasn’t played international cricket for a number of years so there’s probably an extra bit of zip that he has that makes him hard work. As it was coming down the pitch you were almost guessing whether it was an inswinger or whether it was one of the straight ones.”On that performance, yes, he will cause problems for England.”Adam Hose was one of Mohammad Amir’s three wickets•Getty Images

Amir’s day had started less happily. His first delivery as a batsman was called as a no-ball, the cue for somewhat awkward laughter on and off the pitch, while the next took his edge on the way to the keeper.But it is not his batting that will decide the Test series. It is Amir detail, if you like. It is his bowling. And on the evidence of this performance, it is in fine shape.”He bowled an incredible spell,” his team-mate Shan Masood said. “We have no doubts about his talent. We’ve seen it before and we’re seeing it again. He hasn’t lost it. If anything, he has just got better.”Masood was also keen to point out the ability of the rest of this Pakistan attack. And it is true that Sohail Khan, in particular, impressed with a three-wicket haul of his own. With an action just a little reminiscent of Waqar Younis, he had Tim Rouse – another Somerset debutant – edging one that left him, while Yasir Shah proved too good for the tail. Dominic Bess, the 18-year-old first-class debut, left a straight one that hit his off stump.James Hildreth, undefeated on 47, offered the only meaningful resistance. While he was reprieved on 13, he did show the resolve and technique to justify the locals’ argument that he should be featuring strongly in national selection meetings at present. The counter argument suggests he is not comfortable against the short ball and has an average artificially boosted by playing his home games on Taunton’s batting-friendly surface. But 38 first-class centuries and an average of nearly 45 makes a compelling case. Had he been given a little more support here, he might have made an even stronger one. The fact that no selectors were in evidence does not bode well for him.It all meant Pakistan took a first innings lead of 231. But there was no thought of enforcing the follow-on. This game is about gaining the maximum amount of practice rather than the result. Besides, with Azhar Ali stretching the lead close to 400 by the close, they may well still have time to wrap-up victory on the final day. You might even call it Amir formality.The only cloud on Pakistan’s horizon concerns the form of their captain. After his second ball duck in the first innings, Misbah-ul-Haq fell for 19 in the second innings and dropped a tough chance off Hildreth in the slips. It is too early to read much into such issues, but Misbah is asking a great deal of himself to negate a skilful England bowling attack on their own surfaces at the age of 42.Perhaps he was a little unfortunate here. He made decent contact on a reverse sweep only to see the slip fielder Trescothick, only two years younger than Misbah, anticipate the stroke, move to his right and take a fine catch.Mohammad Hafeez also delayed his departure just a little too long after he was given out caught behind. It makes no difference whether Hafeez edged the ball or not – replays were inconclusive – as a senior player, he must know there is no benefit in head-shaking, shrugging or complaining. It wasn’t by any means a serious incident – and certainly no worse than a few we have seen involving England’s seamers in recent years – but, on a tour that will be scrutinised closely, it was the sort of moment Pakistan could do without.Such is the trepidation in the Pakistan camp about what this tour may bring, they have hired a PR consultant from the world of politics to accompany them and largely protect Amir from the media. But, even if there are those who begrudge Amir his chance to make amends – those who, presumably, have never made a mistake in their lives – there will surely be very few true cricket lovers who can remain hard-hearted in the face of such precocious skills. Bowlers so gifted appear rarely; Test cricket can only be enhanced by his return.The vast majority of England spectators will surely recognise both the rare skill and the fact that he has served his punishment. This has been a pleasing few days for Pakistan and for cricket. We could well be in for a cracking Test series. There’s no down side to that.

Offspinner John Nyumbu could make a return to Zimbabwe’s Test side in a bid to balance out an attack that had to rely on part-time bowlers in the first Test against New Zealand. Nyumbu could play as a second specialist spinner to captain Graeme Cremer to back up a pace pack that could also see a return for Njabulo Ncube, whose only Test was in Bulawayo against New Zealand in 2011. The more experienced seamer Chris Mpofu, who has been training with the team, could lead the attack.Both Nyumbu and Mpofu have been training with Zimbabwe’s squad over the last three days although neither was included in the squad for the first Test.Nyumbu started with a five-for on Test debut two years ago against South Africa, but has played only two Tests overall as he went wicketless against Bangladesh in October 2014. Even though he has been among the wickets for Tuskers this year in domestic cricket, he bowled 28 overs without any returns against South Africa A last month.Should the changes take place, Zimbabwe’s attack will more closely resemble the New Zealand one that took 20 wickets in the first Test. New Zealand took the field with three frontline quicks – Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Neil Wagner – and two specialist spinners – Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner. A Zimbabwe pace pack of Mpofu, Ncube and Donald Tiripano with Cremer, Nyumbu and Prince Masvaure as a medium-pace option may give them the resources to make more inroads than the six New Zealand wickets they took.Both teams are still likely to find taking wickets even more difficult starting Thursday on what is likely to be an even flatter surface for the second Test. The pitch being prepared has been rolled very hard and promises plenty of runs, which New Zealand have already predicted.”We know the pitch doesn’t offer a lot so it’s pretty crucial with that new ball,” Santner, the left-arm spinning allrounder said. “If we don’t take wickets with the new ball, it’s about building that pressure on a reasonably flat wicket. We know its going to be a little bit tough through the middle. We just have to stick at it.”Neither Santner nor Sodhi found the same amount of turn Cremer did out of the rough in the first Test, but for Santner it was still more than how much he gets at home. “There’s a little bit more for the spinners in Bulawayo which I am happy with compared to those green ones back home,” he said. “There was a little bit of spin near the end, slow turn. You’ve got to really work hard though. It’s not sharp turn.”Santner missed New Zealand’s limited-overs’ tour of Africa last year with a fractured thumb and since his recovery he has been drafted back in, hoping to make full use of his opportunity. “I’ve been lucky enough to make this tour. This time last year, I broke my thumb a couple days before we were supposed to go,” he said. “You can’t ask more for the weather. I don’t think there has been a cloud in the sky since we’ve been here. It’s awesome.”New Zealand took three days off following their four-day victory last week and a night at Heath Streak’s game-farm outside Bulawayo before returning to training on Thursday. Coach Mike Hesson missed their session with a migraine and may find he has other headaches as well.Part of his selection conundrum will be if he should rest Wagner, whose calf was strapped during Zimbabwe’s second innings, and give one of Doug Bracewell and Matt Henry a go. He will also be pondering whether to include uncapped batsman Jeet Raval, perhaps in place of Martin Guptill.Zimbabwe, who had Thursday off after three days of training that included a visit to a local school, also have to consider their top two. Tino Mawoyo may come into consideration after an injury to his right thumb kept him out of the first match. Mawoyo was hit by Southee during the warm-up match in Harare and will undergo a fitness test on Friday to determine his availability.

ScorecardTom Westley picked up a couple of wickets after scoring a career-best 254•Getty Images

“I’d be lying if I said I weren’t checking the scores,” admitted Essex’s head coach Chris Silverwood.Every interval – virtually every moment of peace – at Chelmsford over the last three days had been broken by an update of scores from around the country, both in the stands and the players’ balcony.News of Kent’s emphatic victory over Sussex, taking them level on points with Essex at the top of Division Two, filtered through as the players were walking off the field for tea. Just over an hour later, Essex had completed their demolition job of Worcestershire. This victory by an innings and 161 runs will have registered down the road in Kent, too.A three-day finish was on the cards when Worcestershire were reduced to 64 for 5 by lunch, in their first innings on day one. That Essex were able to fulfil expectations was ultimately down to Graham Napier, who picked up his fourth five-wicket haul of the season, after Ryan ten Doeschate had brought up his third century of the season before declaring 371 runs ahead.It was not the cleanest morning’s work from Essex. They lost Tom Westley run out for 254: his innings ended at 506 minutes after ten Doeschate dropped the ball into the off side and ran instantly. Westley gave up the run about halfway down, as Brett D’Oliveira swooped from point to throw down the stumps.Still, the Essex skipper remained calm and brought up his century from 114 balls. His innings also took his season’s tally past 1,000 first-class runs for the first time in his career.Essex should have struck in the first over of Worcestershire’s second innings. Jamie Porter got his fourth delivery to lift off a length and take Daryl Mitchell’s edge, only for Nick Browne to put down a simple catch at third slip. Browne would make amends later with a stunning one-handed catch at point, off the bowling of Will Rhodes, to remove Tom Fell.Mitchell’s reprieve allowed him and D’Oliveira to survive until the last over before lunch. It was then that David Masters, in his first over from the Hayes Close end, where he nabbed all seven of his first innings wickets, sent Mitchell on his way with a delivery that kept low as it moved in, knocking into middle and off stump.With the fourth ball after lunch, D’Oliveira was accounted for – becoming the first of Napier’s three afternoon-session wickets when he edged through to James Foster. The second came when Joe Clarke played on, looking to continue on an enterprising innings that was cut short at 22.At this point, George Rhodes, the only bright spot for Worcestershire at Chelmsford, seemed to be on his way to a second half-century in the match.It was at this point that ten Doeschate decided to throw the ball to Westley. Despite the change in regulation, spin has played little part at Chelmsford. In fact, Westley’s first over, the 39th of the second innings, was the first sight of spin from the hosts. It took just four balls to come good, as Ross Whiteley was trapped in front from around the wicket. In Westley’s next over, he drew Rhodes out of his crease to give James Foster his first Championship stumping of the season. The wicket of Leach, bowled by a full Napier delivery that moved late into the right-hander, took the teams to tea.There was a carnival feel to the evening session, as the floodlights were superseded by the sun, which found a gap in the clouds as Essex pushed for a day off. Ed Barnard, caught by Westley at second slip off Napier and then Ben Cox, flicking Masters tamely to Jamie Porter at mid on, gave Napier four in the innings and Masters nine in the match (he had never taken 10). And so the game within a game began – who would get the final wicket? In the end, it went Napier’s way, as Jack Shantry, having stroked a couple of boundaries, offered a high leading edge that ten Doeschate caught brilliantly, sprinting in from mid off.Essex now have a round off, while Kent host a revitalised Northamptonshire at Beckenham. In the meantime, the Essex players will be given some time off before they return to Chelmsford on September 12 to play Glamorgan, before a potential winner-takes-all clash with Kent at Canterbury in the final round of the season.Essex will play their remaining two matches without Alastair Cook, hence the acquisition of Adam Wheater on loan. With Hampshire happy for the wicketkeeper batsman to court opportunities elsewhere ahead of next season, Essex are thought to be interested in bringing him back to the club he left in 2013 on a more permanent basis. Silverwood, though, was keen not to comment on the matter just yet.

ScorecardRavi Timbawala’s composed half-century helped USA chase down Canada’s 221 in the third and final Auty Cup match in Los Angeles. Timbawala struck an unbeaten 73, and the winning four, to seal a two-wicket win with three balls to spare. Canada had won the first two matches, and retained the Auty Cup as a result.Timbawala arrived in the seventh over at 42 for 1, after Fahad Babar had flicked Dilon Heyliger to square leg on 23, and crawled along to 2 off his first 32 balls. It was only after the first drinks break that he picked up pace, using his feet against Nikhil Dutta and lofting him through mid-off, the first of three boundaries for him in consecutive overs through the same arc.Timbawala added 63 for the third wicket with Alex Amsterdam, before Salman Nazar removed Amsterdam and Akeem Dodson. Timbawala carried on and crossed 50 in the 37th over, but found himself running out of partners. Farhan Malik bowled Nicholas Standford in the 38th over, sparking off a mini-collapse as USA lost three wickets in three overs for the addition of 11 runs. To further complicate matters, Timil Patel took on Shehan Kamileen’s arm at cover, and was caught short by a direct hit to leave Canada two wickets away and USA needing 33 off 28 balls.But USA kept their cool with Timbawala and Hammad Shahid – both added as replacements on the eve of the series – knocking off the remaining runs. Canada missed Cecil Pervez, who had been rested, at the death. Satsimranjit Dhindsa conceded two wides and a boundary in the 47th over to bring the equation down to 20 off 18, before Shahid carved a four through point in the 49th over to bring it down to a run a ball.Canada squandered another chance, on the last ball of that over, when Shahid’s connection on a full toss went awry and popped towards Malik, who spilled it at long-on. Timbawala then cut the third ball of the last over off Heyliger over backward point for his seventh four to clinch the win.1:49

‘Happy with how the tournament went for us’ – Nikhil Dutta

Earlier, after Canada opted to bat, Dutta top-scored for the second match in a row, with 72 off 111 balls. He was exceptional against legspinner Timil Patel, skipping down the track to loft him for three sixes, before hitting two more off Hutchinson in the slog overs. Dutta added 53 for the sixth wicket with Varun Sehdev, before a straight drive from Dutta was deflected by Elmore Hutchinson onto the stumps at the non-striker’s end in the 43rd over.With Dutta still going strong, Canada had looked set for at least 230 despite being 196 for 6 in the 45th over. However, Dutta perished after skewing a full toss from Hutchinson to cover. Two overs later, Shahid nabbed Hamza Tariq for 17 and Heyliger for 2 with a pair of slower balls. Amsterdam then wrapped up the innings by bowling Dhindsa with two balls remaining.Although Shahid had the best returns among USA’s bowlers with 2 for 36 in eight overs, left-arm spinner Danial Ahmed, who opened the bowling, was exceptional and finished with 1 for 26 in his 10 overs.Canada will now travel to Bermuda, where they will play three 50-over contests, starting on Friday as Bermuda seek their own preparation for WCL Division Four. Most of USA’s players will remain in Los Angeles over the next two weeks to continue training ahead of their first match of Division Four against Bermuda on October 29.

West Indies batting coach Toby Radford’s advice to his players going into the final day in Sharjah is bat calmly till tea if required, in their attempt to get 39 more for a rare away-Test win. The main thing to avoid, he said, was being in a “rush” to get there, or panicking if a wicket fell.”We have to stay as calm as possible, and in a way try not to think about the board because that is what creates the pressure,” Radford said. “Pick up the ones and twos, don’t rush to get there, and eat away at the target. If it takes till tea time, so be it. There is no rush to get there.”If you lose one or two wickets early on, it is easy to panic, and 150 is a funny score to get. It is not a big score, but you might have to bat a period of time, even 70 overs on a slowish wicket.”The plan when the chase began, he said, was for players to play their natural games instead of letting the scoreboard dictate their approach. Still, West Indies fell to 67 for 5, before Shane Dowrich and Kraigg Brathwaite – two players who were central to West Indies resistance in the first innings too – put them back on track. Radford credited both for the temperament they showed under pressure.”The plan was to bat normally. Kraigg Brathwaite plays that way usually. He has been fantastic in both innings so far, and shown great concentration and application. He is very unflappable as a character. He is a quiet guy, and when he gets into his bubble, he just wants to bat. He can bat six hours, eight, ten…”And I thought Dowrich played very well. It is easy in a situation like that [when there’s a collapse in a small chase] to go extremely defensive, but every opportunity he had to score he took it and we started eating into that lead.”Radford was also impressed with captain Jason Holder’s bowling. He took a maiden Test five-for, helping his side keep the target well within reach. Radford said varying things up helped him in this innings.”Jason was fantastic to get five like that. He is always very tight and very accurate, and here I thought he used his bouncer well. He didn’t let batters settle. Sometimes he can be a little predictable, but he kept batters guessing in this innings.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMehedi Hasan struck 44 off 32 and returned figures of 2 for 12•Raton Gomes/BCB

Rajshahi Kings improved their chances of a top-four finish after complete a stunning comeback to register a 49-run win against Rangpur Riders. After being reduced to 43 for 7 in the 10th over, Farhad Reza and Mehedi Hasan struck an 85-run unbroken eighth wicket stand to lift Rajshahi to 128.Rangpur managed to mirror Rajshahi’s batting collapse and were bowled out for just 79 runs in 17.4 overs. Left-arm spinner Nazmul Islam and pacer Abul Hasan took three wickets each while Mehedi picked up two. Mohammad Sami and Samit Patel also contributed a wicket each.Rangpur’s batting line-up never got going in the chase. Soumya Sarkar was the first man out, stumped in the third over. Mohammad Shahzad was bounced out by Mohammad Sami.Nasir Jamshed fell a ball later, giving Mehedi a return catch. Liam Dawson was incorrectly adjudged lbw, replays showing he had edged the ball onto his front pad. Nazmul was also lucky with his second wicket, of Shahid Afridi who was stumped off wicketkeeper Umar Akmal’s pads after he had missed the delivery that kept low.Rangpur lost mainstay Mohammad Mithun and Ziaur Rahman who was stumped in the 13th over, reducing them to 58 for 7. Rangpur were quickly skittled with Abul taking the last three wickets to fall.Earlier, Rajshahi’s slide had begun with Sunny’s tumbling caught and bowled off Mominul Haque’s drive, which made it 25 for 2 in the fifth over. The ball was going over his head when he managed to bring it down and complete the catch off the second attempt. In the same over, Patel edged to Shahzad.Abul gave Sunny his third wicket in the seventh over when he holed out to deep midwicket. When Afridi took the return catch of Sabbir Rahman, Rajshahi were reduced to 43 for 7.Farhad and Mehedi were then forced to pick up the singles to resurrect the innings. Farhad hammered Rubel Hossain over his head in the 17th over, it was the first six of the innings. Mehedi also launched Rubel for a straight six in the final over.Farhad was unbeaten on 44 off 32 balls with two fours and two sixes, while Mehedi contributed with an unbeaten 33-ball 41 with three fours and a six. The pair added 85 runs, a new BPL record for the eighth wicket.Rajshahi are now on ten points, equal with Rangpur and Chittagong Vikings.