Rangpur Riders have been in top form for the second consecutive week
BPL 2024-25extending their winning streak to seven of seven to come within striking distance of the playoffs. And they’ve made it fun: the two wins in Sylhet in the last week have been last-ditch affairs, one of them
one last player.
Against Fortune Barishal, their captain
Nurul Hasan smashed 30 runs in the last over against Kyle Mayers for a three-wicket win. Then it was the turn of their fielders and bowlers to make a delay
spin against Khulna Tigerswhile they picked up three wickets in the last over, pulled ahead
Mohammad Saifuddinto win by eight runs.
Like Rangpur, Chittagong Kings also won both their outings in Sylhet, beating Dhaka Capitals and Sylhet Strikers quite comfortably. Dhaka and Sylhet also opened their accounts in the competition, while Durbar Rajshahi also won a match in the Sylhet leg.
Nurul’s steal against Barishal was one of the many highlights of last week.
Zakir Hasan i
Usman Khan made two half-centuries each.
Litton Das scored a 73 and his maiden T20 century, a 125 not out, with
Tanzid Hasan scoring 108 alongside Litton in that match against Rajshahi as the two put on 241 for the first wicket.
Unfortunately for Litton, the sudden burst of form came a little late as he was dropped
Bangladesh Champions Trophy Selection – scored the century in the evening after the squad had been announced in the afternoon.
Usman dominated the power play in Chittagong’s two wins, also gathering good partnerships in the process. A week after hitting 123 in 62 balls in Chittagong’s 105-run win over Rajshahi, Usman hit
55 in 33 balls against Dhaka and then
53 in 35 balls against Sylhet, when they won by 30 runs. Indeed, his form, and that of other batsmen like Graham Clark and Haider Ali and Shamim Hossain has been instrumental in Chittagong’s recent rise.
Best Bowler – Mohammad Saifuddin
There have been no big runs from any of the bowlers this week, but many of them have made important contributions.
Khaled Ahmed i
Mohammad Wasim he did well in the two Chittagong wins.
Akif Javed he also bowled a match-winning spell, taking three wickets in Rangpur’s win over Khulna.
Rahkeem CornwallMeanwhile, he was the only spinner to take a three for this week, setting up Sylhet’s win over Dhaka.
The performance that stood out, however, was Saifuddin’s superb last over against Khulna. Khulna needed 12 runs from six balls, and although they were six down at the start of the over, they were favorites to get it.
Saifuddin stuck to the Yorkers, started with two dot balls, then bowled, but then Rangpur took three wickets in three balls as panic set in the Khulna camp. Mohammad Nawaz and Nasum Ahmed were run out off consecutive balls, and Saifuddin got rid of Abu Hider, before giving away a run on the final ball.
Nurul became only the second batsman to score 30 runs in the last over of a T20 match, and Rangpur’s 30 runs ranked third in the list of most runs scored in the last over of a men’s T20 game.
Sabbir Rahmanmeanwhile, he scored his first BPL half-century in five years, hitting
82 not out off 33 balls with nine sixes and three fours. But it was not enough as Chittagong won that match against Dhaka.
Litton scored his maiden T20 century in his 227th match in the format.
Rangpur are the clear leaders. Chittagong have been the surprise package, now in second place with six points from four games. Barishal, who entered the tournament as one of the favourites, are in third place, also with six points, but have played one match more than Chittagong. Khulna, Sylhet and Rajshahi will have to fight hard for the fourth playoff spot, but Dhaka, with one win in seven matches, will need to make a big late charge to have a chance.
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