Sakib-Mustafiz to face off in IPL today

Sports Desk: Two of the biggest stars in Bangladesh cricket, all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman, will face each other for the first time in an Indian Premier League match Saturday as Mustafizur and Sunrisers Hyderabad look for their first win in their first home game, as they host Shakib and the Kolkata Knight Riders.

The Knight Riders will be looking for their second win against one loss, crushing the Delhi Daredevils in their first outing by nine wickets with 35 balls remaining — but falling to the defending IPL champions Mumbai Indians by six wickets with five balls left their next time out, on April 13.

 

The 29-year-old Shakib, considered the best all-rounder Bangladesh has ever produced, did not see action in either of those games. But he is expected to get in the game Saturday afternoon in Hyderabad, where he may end up in the crease against his international Bangladesh teammate Mustafizur — the 20-year-old, crafty fast bowling sensation who burst on the world cricket scene in June of 2015 when he took a five-wicket haul against India on his international debut.

That debut came in a one-day international, 50-overs match. More recently, “The Fiz” claimed five wickets in a losing effort in the T20 World Cup for Bangladesh against New Zealand.

The IPL debut of Mustafizur Rahman came on April 12 and was another spectacular outing, as the fast-rising superstar took two wickets for Sunrisers Hyderabad while allowing an economy rate of just 6.50 against the powerful Royal Challengers Bangalore.

 

But that outing was the lone bright spot for Sunrisers as they suffered a 45-run defeat to the Virat Kolhi-led Royal Challengers Bangalore. Rahman, however, took the wicket of world elite batsman A.B. de Villiers of South Africa.
Watch highlights of the Sunrisers Hyderabad vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore match in the video below, to see the sparking IPL debut of Mustafizur Rahman.

 

To find out how to watch the anticipated matchup of Bangladesh international cricket stars Mustafizur Rahman and Shakib Al Hasan in Saturday’s Sunrisers Hyderabad vs. Kolkata Knight Riders IPL T20 cricket match eight, see the streaming information in the final paragraph of this article. First ball is scheduled for 4 p.m. India Standard Time at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal, Hyderabad, India on April 16.

For fans in the United States, the live stream will start at 6:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 3:30 a.m. Pacific.
Kolkata Knight Riders has Shakib batting in the seventh slot, so there is always a chance that he will once again get no turn at bat.

 

“I’m happy batting wherever the team needs me to. I always try to contribute as much as possible,” Shakib said last week. “But it’s also not as if I come in at Number Seven all the matches. There have been situations when I was sent to bat at Number Four as well. But I don’t think about it.”

 

The India-based site CricHD will stream the IPL showdown between Bangladesh stars Mustafizur Rahman and Shakib Al Hasan live online at this link. But viewers should be aware that the site carries large amounts of both pop-up and embedded ads that could cause browser crashes and other online slowdowns. For the most reliable live online stream of the Sunrisers Hyderabad Vs. Kolkata Knight Riders Indian Premier League eighth match, cricket fans can go to this link to subscribe to and watch all 60 IPL 2016 matches for $29.99 via ESPN Cricket Pass. The one-time price also includes unlimited on-demand replays of each Indian Premier League Season Nine match. Viewers in India can find the Sunrisers Hyderabad Vs. Kolkata Knight Riders match live stream via the Star Sports site at this link, while Cricket Gateway also carries the entire 2016 IPL in 155 countries outside of the United States, India, and Europe.

 

risingbd/Dhaka/Apr 16, 2016/A K Azad