Khaled Ahmed’s Four-Wicket Burst Seals Rangpur Riders’ Winning Start in Global Super League

Defending champions Rangpur Riders opened their Global Super League campaign with a thrilling 8-run win over home side Guyana Amazon Warriors. Bangladesh pacer Khaled Ahmed was the star with the ball, claiming 4 crucial wickets to derail Guyana’s chase.

After winning the toss and opting to bat, Rangpur posted 162/5. Their innings was built on a cautious start before Kyle Mayers (44* off 31) and Iftikhar Ahmed (34 off 21) accelerated in the death overs. Soumya Sarkar contributed 35, Saif Hassan 24, while Nurul Hasan’s quick 18 off 10 balls added late impetus.

Chasing 163, Guyana began brightly despite losing Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the first over to Afghan pacer Azmatullah Omarzai. Johnson Charles (40) and Moeen Ali (27) added 48 runs in just 5 overs to lift their hopes.

But Khaled Ahmed turned the game with an inspired spell. He dismissed Shimron Hetmyer in the 15th over and Sharafane Rutherford in the 17th. In the 19th over, he struck twice in two balls to remove Dwaine Pretorius and Shamar Springer. He finished with figures of 4/36 in 4 overs.

Omarzai closed out the match by bowling David Wiese with the first ball of the final over, sealing Guyana’s innings at 154 in 19.1 overs.

For Rangpur, Omarzai took 2/13 in 4 overs while spinner Tabraiz Shamsi claimed 2/24.