The Rangpur Riders secured their place in the next round of the tournament with a thrilling win over Fortune Barishal in the eliminator on Sunday in Mirpur.
The match was filled with nail-biting moments as both teams fought to claim the victory. In the end, it was the Riders who emerged triumphant, knocking out their Fortune Barishal with a close four-wicket win.
As the match neared its conclusion, Rangpur found themselves needing just eight runs to secure the win. The pressure was on as the final over began, but Mahedi Hasan was equal to the task. He showed incredible composure and skill, hitting Kamrul Islam for two consecutive fours after a single in the first ball. This heroic effort ensured the Riders' victory and set them up for the second qualifier against any of the Sylhet Strikers or Comilla Victorians.
Barishal batted first and scored 170 for 3 wickets. Despite having a strong opportunity to increase their score, they failed to capitalize in the middle overs and missed out on adding more runs to the board.
In the chase, Shamim Hossain led the Rangpur Riders with a magnificent 71 runs off 51 balls, including four fours and four sixes. Rony Talukdar, the opening batsman for the Riders, also contributed a valuable 29 runs off 17 balls.
In the latter stages of the game, Nicholas Pooran and Dwayne Bravo failed to deliver as they scored only 5 and 2 runs, respectively. However, Mahedi stepped up and played a pivotal role in leading Rangpur to a thrilling conclusion. They successfully finished the match with three balls left to play.
For Barishal, Shakib Al Hasan, Kamrul, and Khaled Ahmed took two wickets each.
Earlier, Mehidy Hasan Miraz had a strong performance, scoring 69 runs off 40 balls with nine fours and one six while opening the innings for Barishal. This contribution was complimented by strong efforts from Mahmudullah Riyad and Karim Janat who scored 34 and 33 runs respectively. Despite these impressive performances, the team was unable to secure their place in the next phase of the BPL.
Barishal was only able to secure five wins in 13 matches during the league. Despite having talented players under the leadership of Shakib, their overall performance was not enough to qualify for the next phase.
Source: United News of Bangladesh