Rangpur Riders have been in top form for a second week in a row in BPL 2024-25, stretching their winning run to seven out of seven to get to within striking distance of the playoffs. And they have made it fun – both their wins in the Sylhet leg over the past week have been last-over affairs, one of them a last-baller.
Against Fortune Barishal, their captain Nurul Hasan smashed 30 runs in the last over off Kyle Mayers for a three-wicket win. Then it was the turn of their fielders and bowlers to make a late turnaround against Khulna Tigers, as they picked up three wickets in the last over, bowled by Mohammad Saifuddin, to 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 one game in the Sylhet leg.
Best batter – Usman Khan
Nurul’s heist against Barishal was one of many batting highlights of the past week.
Zakir Hasan and Usman Khan struck 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 game against Rajshahi as the two put on 241 for the first wicket.
Unfortunately for Litton, the sudden burst in form came a tad late as he was dropped from Bangladesh’s Champions Trophy squad – he scored the century in the evening after the squad had been announced in the afternoon.
Usman dominated the powerplay in both of Chittagong’s wins, putting together good partnerships as well in the process. Coming into the week after slamming 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 the other batters like Graham Clark and Haider Ali and Shamim Hossain has been central to Chittagong’s recent surge.
Best bowler – Mohammad Saifuddin
There were no big hauls by any of the bowlers this week, but plenty of them made telling contributions.
Khaled Ahmed and Mohammad Wasim did well in Chittagong’s two wins. Akif Javed also bowled a match-winning spell, taking three wickets in Rangpur’s win over Khulna. Rahkeem Cornwall, meanwhile, was the only spinner to take a three-for this week, setting up Sylhet’s win over Dhaka.
The performance that stood out, though, was Saifuddin’s superb last over against Khulna. Khulna needed 12 runs off the six balls, and though they were six down at the start of the over, were favourites to pull it off.
Saifuddin stuck to yorkers, started the over with two dot balls, then bowled a wide, but then Rangpur got 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 then got rid of Abu Hider, before giving away one run off the final ball.
Unusual plays
Nurul became only the second batter to hit 30 runs in the last over of a T20 match, and the 30 runs Rangpur got ranked third in the list of most runs scored off the last over of a men’s T20 game.
Sabbir Rahman, meanwhile, scored his first BPL half-century in five years, hitting 82 not out off 33 balls with nine sixes and three fours. But it wasn’t enough as Chittagong won that game against Dhaka.
Litton scored his first T20 century in his 227th match in the format.
Rangpur are the clear leaders. Chittagong have been the surprise package, now in second position with six points from four games. Barishal, who came into the tournament as one of the favourites, are in third place, also with six points but they have played one game more than Chittagong. Khulna, Sylhet and Rajshahi will have to battle hard for the fourth playoffs spot, but Dhaka, with one win in seven matches, will have to make a big, late charge to be in with a chance.
