HATTOGRAM, Bangladesh, (CMC) – Superstar Andre Russell proved his weight in gold, snatching three wickets and producing an electrifying cameo with the bat, as Comilla Victorians thrashed Brandon King’s Rangpur Riders by six wickets in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) on Tuesday.
The 35-year-old Russell, fresh from the West Indies Twenty20 tour of Australia, picked up three for 20 from 2.5 overs of fast-medium to reduce Riders to 150 all out with a ball to spare at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.

When captain and opener Litton Das (43) and Mahidul Islam Ankon (39) fell in successive overs to leave the Victorians’ run chase perched at 103 for four in the 15th over, Russell arrived to blast four fours and four sixes in a 12-ball unbeaten 43 to put them over the line with 14 balls remaining.
Sent in, Riders were lifted by New Zealander Jimmy Neesham’s unbeaten 69 off 42 deliveries, a knock which pulled the innings around from 39 for four in the sixth over after West Indies seamer, Matthew Forde (2-32), rocked the top order with the new ball.

King made just four at the top of the order before perishing in the second over with five runs on the board.
Neesham belted nine fours and a brace of sixes, posting 29 for the fifth wicket with Shakib Al Hasan (24), 22 for the sixth with Tom Moores (8) and 43 for the last wicket with Imran Tahir (5).

In reply, Litton Das put on 36 for the first wicket with former West Indies off-spinner, Sunil Narine (15), before adding a further 65 for the third with Mahidul.
When Russell entered, Victorians needed 48 runs from 33 balls, and the West Indies all-rounder quickly settled the matter with a brutal exhibition of power-hitting.

In the earlier encounter, West Indies one-day captain, Shai Hope, made a fighting 31 from 21 balls with a four and three sixes but his Khulna Tigers slumped to a heavy 65-run defeat to Romario Shepherd’s Chattogram Challengers.
Chasing 193 after opener Tanzid Hasan struck 116 off 65 balls, Tigers got a top score of 35 from captain and opener Anamul Haque, while the West Indies pair of Jason Holder (18) and Evin Lewis (6) both failed.