Rangpur ride on Babar and Omarzai to down Sylhet
Pakistan stalwart Babar, who was part of his national team's T20I series against New Zealand, fashioned the chase with a well-composed half-century.
A stupendous partnership between Babar Azam and Azmatullah Omarzai powered Rangpur Riders' come-from-behind victory over Mashrafe Mortaza-led Sylhet Strikers.
The four-wicket win was Rangpur's first in the tournament while Sylhet lost two out of two.
Pakistan stalwart Babar, who was part of his national team's T20I series against New Zealand, fashioned the chase with a well-composed half-century.
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He hit six boundaries in his 56* off 49.
Afghanistan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai gave fine support to his senior partner. He was the more aggressive of the two, hitting three maximums and two fours in his unbeaten 35-ball-47.
Sylhet's top five failed miserably as they were five down for just 39 runs in the ninth over. Notably, captain Mashrafe Mortaza promoted himself to number three but fell soon after a schoolboy error saw him getting run out.
Sylhet had Yasir Ali batting at four ahead of last match's top-scorer Zakir Hasan but none of the two batters could make any impact.
Rangpur spinners bowled exceedingly well and their fast bowlers took the pace off frequently. T20 specialist all-rounders Benny Howell and Ben Cutting added 68 off 9.2 overs for the sixth wicket to somewhat retrieve the sinking ship.
Aussie hitter Cutting made a run-a-ball 31 before paceman Ripon Mondol got him out in the 18th over.
Howell was Sylhet's top-scorer with a 36-ball-43.
Ripon and powerplay specialist Mahedi Hasan picked up two wickets each for Rangpur. Rangpur skipper Nurul Hasan impressed with his glovework.
Dushan Hemantha, who has made a name for himself with his athletic fielding, ran through the Rangpur middle order by snaring the scalps of Mohammad Nabi, Shamim Hossain and Mahedi Hasan.
Before that, Rony Talukdar, Brandon King and Nurul Hasan got out cheaply.
Rangpur, who were without star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, were limited to 39-6 in the seventh over. But Babar and Omarzai added a decisive 86 off 68 to seal the chase.
