Rajshahi Warriors produced an unbelievable comeback from the brink of defeat to beat Rangpur Riders, with pacer Ripon Mondol emerging as the hero through brilliant bowling in the final over and the Super Over.
What had been a dull contest suddenly turned into a thriller towards the end. The final over was packed with drama, with the momentum swinging repeatedly. Victory slipped from Rangpur’s grasp as Rajshahi staged an astonishing fightback, forced the match into a tie, and then sealed the win in the Super Over.
Ripon Mondol was the standout performer for Rajshahi, delivering exceptional spells in both the final over of the main match and the Super Over.
Chasing a target of 160, Rangpur looked well on course thanks to half-centuries from Towhid Hridoy and Dawid Malan. With eight wickets in hand, they needed just 22 runs from the last three overs.
SM Meherob reignited the contest in the 18th over by conceding only two runs and dismissing Kyle Mayers. The following over yielded 13 runs, including a four each from Khushdil Shah and Malan.
Seven runs were required off the final over. Ripon began by bowling outside off stump, forcing left-hander Khushdil to hole out to deep point. Nurul Hasan Sohan then struck a four off his first ball. The next delivery went wide outside off, but despite Rangpur captain’s appeal, the umpire did not call it a wide.
On the fourth ball, Sohan mistimed a pull off a short delivery to the leg side. The ball took an edge and went behind the wicket, where a fielder stopped it just inside the boundary, allowing two runs to level the scores.
Sohan was dismissed on the fifth ball, caught by Mushfiqur Rahim on the leg side. Off the final delivery, Mahmudullah failed to find the gap off a full toss. Meherob showed great presence of mind at short midwicket, stopping the ball and breaking the non-striker’s stumps with it to run out Mahmudullah and tie the match.
In the Super Over, despite conceding two wides, Ripon restricted Rangpur to just six runs while taking two wickets. Kyle Mayers was bowled for one off three balls, Khushdil Shah was run out off the final delivery, and Hridoy managed just one run.
Tanzid Hasan then smashed two fours off Mustafizur Rahman to win the match for Rajshahi in just three balls.
The BPL witnessed a tied match after six years. Previously, ties occurred in 2019 between Khulna Titans and Chittagong Vikings, and in 2020 between Cumilla Warriors and Sylhet Thunder.
Until the final over, Ripon had endured an expensive outing, conceding 37 runs in his first three overs. However, he finished with figures of 2 for 43 and was named Player of the Match for the second game in a row. In the previous match, the 22-year-old pacer had registered career-best figures of 4 for 13 on his tournament debut.
Earlier, at the Sylhet International Stadium on Thursday, Rajshahi were strongly placed at 105 for 1 in the 13th over. But they lost their way and finished on 159 for 8 in 20 overs.
After failures in the first three matches, Pakistani opener Sahibzada Farhan finally found form, scoring 65 off 46 balls with eight fours and two sixes. Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto added 41 off 30 balls with five fours and a six, while the rest of the batters failed to make notable contributions.
Faheem Ashraf, who had taken five wickets for 17 runs in the opening match, was again Rangpur’s most successful bowler with three wickets, though he was expensive this time, conceding 43 runs in four overs.
However, Rangpur’s best bowler was Aliss Al Islam. The 29-year-old mystery spinner claimed two crucial wickets while giving away just 16 runs in his four overs.
In reply, Hridoy bounced back from a failure in the first match with a 53-run knock off 39 balls, including seven fours. Malan followed it up with his second consecutive fifty, remaining unbeaten on 63 off 50 balls with six fours and two sixes.
Rajshahi lost the toss and were put in to bat. Sahibzada began aggressively, hitting a boundary off the first ball of the match and another four off Aliss in the next over. The opening stand ended in the same over with Tanzid’s dismissal.
A major highlight in the field came from Litton Kumar Das, who took a stunning full-length diving catch running from mid-on towards long-on to dismiss Tanzid.
Sahibzada continued his attacking display, smashing two sixes off Faheem in the fifth over, one of which sailed over deep square leg into the gallery.
At the other end, Shanto also played aggressively, striking a four and a six off pace bowler Nahid Rana. Sahibzada reached his fifty off 34 balls. Rajshahi scored 50 in the powerplay and raced to 102 for 1 in 12 overs, seemingly eyeing a total around 180–190.
But the momentum shifted in the next over when Shanto was run out in an unfortunate manner. After completing a single to point, he set off for a risky second run, only for the bowler to break the stumps with the ball and catch him short.
What followed was a collapse, as wickets fell in quick succession. Mushfiqur Rahim was caught on the boundary attempting a six, Litton took another brilliant catch to dismiss Mohammad Nawaz, while Yasir Ali and Meherob also failed to finish strongly.
During the chase, Litton struck three fours off Ripon in the second over but was dismissed in the fourth over, playing a loose shot off a short ball from Tanzim Hasan.
Hridoy then took charge at number three with fluent batting. Malan struggled early on but eventually found his rhythm, and the pair built a strong partnership. Hridoy reached his fifty off 35 balls before being dismissed by Meherob in the 16th over, ending a 100-run stand off 72 balls.
Malan brought up his fifty off 43 balls. In the 17th over, Mayers hit a six and Malan added a four off Tanzim, collecting 13 runs.
At that stage, the match seemed firmly in Rangpur’s control. But late drama saw them lose their grip, tie the match, and eventually fall short in the Super Over.
With three wins from four matches, Rajshahi strengthened their position at the top of the table with six points. Rangpur, who had started as favourites with a seven-wicket win in the opening match, now sit third with two points.
Brief scores
- Rajshahi Warriors: 159/8 in 20 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 65, Shanto 41; Faheem Ashraf 3/43, Aliss Al Islam 2/16).
- Rangpur Riders: 159/6 in 20 overs (Dawid Malan 63*, Towhid Hridoy 53; Ripon Mondol 2/43).
Result: Match tied; Rajshahi Warriors won in the Super Over.
Player of the Match: Ripon Mondol
