Dhaka Capitals came agonisingly close but failed to cross the line, suffering their third straight defeat of the tournament.
Needing 10 runs from the final six balls, Mohammad Mithun was still at the crease on a half-century, with Sabbir Rahman at the other end. At that moment, the odds clearly favoured Dhaka Capitals. But Mustafizur Rahman turned the game on its head with a superb final over, as Rangpur Riders pulled off a thrilling win in a nail-biting contest.
At the Sylhet International Stadium on Sunday, Rangpur edged out Dhaka by five runs in a gripping BPL clash. Defending 155, they restricted Dhaka to 150 to seal the victory.
This marked Rangpur’s second consecutive win of the season, while Dhaka—who had started the tournament with a victory—tasted defeat for the third match in a row.
Mithun began the final over with 54 runs beside his name. He took a single off the first ball. Mustafizur then bowled a slower yorker, which Sabbir somehow managed to dig out. The next delivery was a cutter, and Sabbir failed to make contact.
Sabbir and Mithun managed a single each off the fourth and fifth balls. A six off the final delivery would have tied the match, but Sabbir lofted the ball into the air and could only manage a single.
In the end, Dhaka captain Mithun remained unbeaten on 56 off 38 balls, striking one six and six fours. Despite staying till the end, the disappointment of not being able to take his team over the line was clearly visible on his face.
Mustafizur delivered an excellent spell, finishing with figures of 1 for 23. Kyle Mayers, Aliss Al Islam and Khushdil Shah also chipped in with a wicket each.
Earlier, Mahmudullah was the standout performer with the bat for Rangpur. Under pressure, he played a responsible innings of 51 off 41 balls, hitting seven fours, and was rightly named Player of the Match.
Rangpur’s innings did not get off to a strong start after losing the toss and being sent in to bat. Kyle Mayers departed in the third over for 11 off 11 balls, with two fours. They suffered a double blow in the final over of the powerplay, as Ziaur Rahman dismissed both Litton Das and Towhid Hridoy with his first two deliveries.
Mahmudullah, who had earlier denied the Afghan pacer a hat-trick, then joined forces with Dawid Malan to steady the innings after Rangpur slipped to 30 for 3. The pair rebuilt patiently, focusing on partnerships rather than boundaries.
Rangpur struggled to find the fence for a long period. It was only in the 10th over—after 31 balls—that Malan finally broke the drought with a boundary. Mahmudullah, who had scored just eight runs from his first 18 balls, also found his first four in the following over.
In the 12th over, Mahmudullah took charge, hitting Saif Hasan for three consecutive fours. He followed it up with two more boundaries off Taskin Ahmed in the next over.
Malan, who had looked scratchy early on, launched Imad Wasim for a huge six but was caught at the boundary on the very next ball while attempting another big hit. He scored 33 off 33 balls, ending a 74-run partnership.
Khushdil Shah, who had managed only two runs from his first eight balls, struck back-to-back fours off Ziaur Rahman and later smashed Taskin for a six. Mahmudullah reached his fifty off 40 balls but was dismissed on the very next delivery.
Rangpur crossed the 150 mark thanks to Khushdil’s late flourish, as he struck a six and a four off the final two balls bowled by Ziaur. The Pakistani all-rounder remained unbeaten on 38 off 21 balls, with two sixes and four fours.
Dhaka got off to a flying start in the chase. In the second over, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Abdullah Al Mamun struck a boundary each off Aliss. Mamun then hit two fours off Akif Javed in the following over.
Gurbaz welcomed spinner Rakibul Islam with a boundary and followed it up with another four on the final ball of the over. In the sixth over, he smashed two fours and a six off Aliss as Dhaka ended the powerplay on 53 without loss.
The opening stand of 54 was broken in the very next over when Gurbaz was dismissed by Mayers. Playing his first match of the season, the Afghan batter scored 31 off 22 balls, hitting five fours and a six.
Khushdil struck immediately, removing Mamun, who had scored 20 runs with four fours. Mithun opened his account with a boundary off his second ball and began to anchor the innings.
At the other end, Saif Hasan struggled to get going and looked uncomfortable before edging Aliss to Khushdil. He scored 15 off 24 balls without hitting a single boundary. Mithun, however, hit a six in the same over.
Shamim Hossain failed to capitalize after hitting Akif for a six and was caught at the boundary off Mustafizur on the final ball of the 18th over, which conceded just two runs.
Dhaka needed 23 runs from the final 12 balls. Sabbir struck a four off the first delivery and then hit Akif for a six on the last ball of the over, bringing the equation down to 10 off six balls. But Mustafizur’s outstanding final over ensured Dhaka fell short.
With three wins from four matches, Rangpur now sit second on the points table with six points. Chattogram Royals, who won the day’s first match, are level on points but top the table on net run rate.
Dhaka Capitals have two points and are currently placed fifth.
Brief scores
- Rangpur Riders: 155/5 in 20 overs (Mayers 11, Litton 6, Malan 33, Hridoy 0, Mahmudullah 51, Khushdil 38*, Sohan 7*; Imad 4-0-20-1, Taskin 4-0-35-1, Saifuddin 4-0-29-1, Ziaur 4-0-35-2, Nasir 3-1-15-0, Saif 1-0-14-0)
- Dhaka Capitals: 150/4 in 20 overs (Gurbaz 31, Mamun 20, Saif 15, Mithun 56*, Shamim 11, Sabbir 12*; Mayers 2-0-7-1, Aliss 4-0-38-1, Akif 4-0-34-0, Rakibul 3-0-26-0, Mustafizur 4-0-23-1, Khushdil 3-0-19-1)
Result: Rangpur Riders won by 5 runs
Man of the Match: Mahmudullah
