Rangpur Riders sealed their second successive win in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) as they beat Sylhet Strikers by 34 runs at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium on Tuesday.
Defending 156, Rangpur bowlers, led by Nahid Rana, restricted Sylhet to 121/9.
Nahid was the star of the show with the ball with four wickets to his name conceding only 27 runs. He could have had his fifth had Rakibul Hasan not missed a sitter at the square leg.
He first dismissed Zakir Hasan (18) who was going strong in the chase through an outswinger. He dismissed Paul Stirling (6) in the same over to take the game under control. A fiery and aggressive celebration was on display as he sent Jaker Ali (24). Samiullah Shinwari (8) was his final victim of the day.
Apart from Nahid, Saifuddin and Khushdil Shah bagged a brace each. Khushdil missed a hattrick courtesy of a DRS call.
Earlier, after opting to bat first, Rangpur Riders piled up 155/6 thanks to Iftikhar Ahmed’s unbeaten 47 and skipper Nurul Hasan’s quickfire 42.
In a bid to clinch their second straight victory, Rangpur lost three quick wickets. They lost Alex Hales (6), Saif Hassan (4) and Steven Taylor (12) respectively and were reduced to 28/3 in the fifth over.
Iftikhar then built a 41-run partnership for the third wicket with Khushdil Shah before the latter departed for 21 hitting two boundaries and one maximum.
Nurul Hasan then came to the crease and played some shots around the ground. He scored 41 before departing off just 24 balls. The Rangpur skipper hit four boundaries and two maximums during his stay.
Ifitkhar eventually remained unbeaten on 47 from 42 balls hitting four boundaries and one maximum.
Mahedi Hasan contributed 16 from 8 balls to take the total beyond 150.
For Dhaka Capitals, Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Al Amin Hossain bagged a brace each.
Rangpur earlier opened the BPL campaign with a 40-run victory over Dhaka Capitals on Monday. They will face Fortune Barishal in their third match on Thursday.
Source: The Daily Sun
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