With 22 needed from the last three overs, the match was Khulna Tigers’ to lose. Rangpur Riders were down and out of the match. But a team who had won their previous six matches in a row, they knew how to turn things around like a miracle.
And they did to make it seven in seven in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), reprots The Daily Sun.
Rangpur eventually beat Khulna by 8 runs at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium to remain unbeaten in the tournament and all but securing their playoffs spot.
Chasing 187, Khulna Tigers were eventually restricted to 178/9 in their 20 overs.
They had a quick start thanks to Darwish Rasooli who scored 17 before departing.
Skipper Mehidy Hasan then built a 61-run partnership with opener Naim Sheikh. Mehidy was the second batter to depart scoring 39 off just 24 balls hitting three boundaries and two maximums.
Naim continued playing in his way to take Khulna to a comfortable place. He scored 58 off 41 balls.
Afif Hossain departed in the 18th over though with Khulna still needing 22 to win. He smashed 29 off just 15 balls before departing.
Mahedi Haasan conceded only four runs in the 18th over and the game turned to its head there.
Akif Javed came in to bowl the penultimate over, conceded only six runs, leaving Khulna needing 12 to win in the final over.
Saifuddin bowled the last over with all hopes pinned on him. And he successfully defended that to win Rangpur’s seventh consecutive match in the ongoing BPL.
Khulna managed to score only 11 runs in the final three overs losing six wickets including a three-wicket final over.
For Rangpur, Akif Javed picked up three wickets while Saifuddin and Mahedi bagged a brace each.
Opting to bat first, Rangpur Riders scored 186/5 in their 20 overs riding on Iftekhar Ahmed and Khushdil Shah’s brilliant fourth-wicket partnership.
Playing for their seventh consecutive win, Rangpur didn’t have the best of starts losing two wickets before the sixth over. They even scored less than run-a-ball in the powerplay.
Opener Tawfique Khan gave them some sort of momentum but he too departed in the 11th over scoring 36 off 30 balls. He hit four boundaries and one maximum before departing as Rangpur were reduced to 70/3.
Then came Iftekhar and Khushdil. The duo added 115 runs for the fourth wicket in just 57 balls to take Rangpur to a commendable total in the end.
Khushdil was the primary aggressor scoring 73 off just 35 balls. He hit four boundaries and six towering maximums during his innings.
Iftekhar, on the other end, bagged 43 off 36 balls hitting five boundaries.
Hasan Mahmud, broke the partnership in the last over. He bagged a brace while Abu Hider also bagged a brace for Khulna Tigers.
Bd-pratidin English/Lutful Hoque
