Nahid Rana stars with 4 wickets as Rangpur claim back-to-back victories in BPL
The highlight of the match was a brilliant bowling performance from Nahid Rana, who claimed 4 wickets and played a key role in ensuring his team's second consecutive victory in the competition.
Rangpur Riders continued their impressive form in the 11th edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), securing a dominant 34-run win over Sylhet Strikers on 31 December.
The highlight of the match was a brilliant bowling performance from Nahid Rana, who claimed 4 wickets and played a key role in ensuring his team's second consecutive victory in the competition.
Rangpur, having won their opening match against Dhaka Capitals, set a target of 156 runs after choosing to bat first. Sylhet, in their chase, faltered early and struggled throughout, ultimately being bowled out for just 121 runs in their allotted overs.
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The match began on a difficult note for Sylhet. They lost George Munsey for a mere 2 runs off 3 balls in the second over, followed by Zakir Hasan, who was dismissed for 18 runs off 12 balls. Paul Stirling, the Irish batter, also failed to make an impact, getting out for just 6 runs from 5 balls, leaving Sylhet at 43/3.
Despite the early setbacks, Rony Talukdar and JakerAli showed some resilience, adding 41 runs together. Rony's 36-ball 41 runs provided Sylhet with a glimmer of hope, but just when it seemed they might stabilise, he was bowled out by Khushdil Shah in the 15th over. The very next ball saw the dismissal of Ariful Haque for a duck, and with that, Rangpur took complete control.
The chase continued to fall apart as Nahid Rana claimed the crucial wicket of Jaker Ali for 24 runs off 2 balls in the 16th over. From then on, Sylhet's lower order crumbled, with TanzimHasan Shakib (3), Naheeduzzaman (1), and Shinwari (8) all departing quickly. Topley (5*) and Al Amin (3*) tried to delay the inevitable, but Sylhet could not recover, finishing at 121, 34 runs short of their target.
Earlier, Rangpur's batting also saw a few hiccups. Openers Alex Hales and Saif Hassan were dismissed cheaply, leaving their team at a precarious 28/3. However, Khushdil Shah and Iftekhar Ahmed steadied the innings, adding 41 runs together. Khushdil's 21 off 16 balls wasn't enough to give Rangpur the platform they needed, but Iftekhar remained composed, making a valuable 47* off 42 balls.
Nurul Hasan Sohan and Sheikh Mahidi added crucial runs towards the end, with Sohan contributing 41 runs from 24 balls, while Mahidi chipped in with 16 runs off 8 balls. Rangpur finished with 155/7, a challenging total that proved enough to secure the win.
In Sylhet's bowling department, TanzimShakib and Al Amin Hossain claimed two wickets each, but it wasn't enough to stop Rangpur from claiming the win.
