Rangpur Riders Beat Sylhet Strikers by 34 Runs to Top BPL Table

On the last day of 2024, Rangpur Riders defeated Sylhet Strikers by 34 runs in a thrilling BPL match. With back-to-back wins in two days, Rangpur now sits at the top of the points table. Chasing a target of 156 runs, Sylhet could only manage 121 runs, losing 9 wickets in the process.

Rangpur Riders, led by Nurlul Hasan Sohan, secured their second consecutive win in the opening two days of the tournament. Their dominant bowling performance, particularly by pacer Nahid Rana, dismantled Sylhet’s batting order. Rana claimed 4 wickets for just 27 runs, earning the 'Player of the Match' award.

In the fourth match of the 2025 BPL at Mirpur, Rangpur won the toss and opted to bat first, setting a target of 156 runs after posting 155/6 in their allotted 20 overs. However, they initially faced trouble, with Alex Hales failing once again, dismissed for just 6 runs. Saif Hassan also struggled, scoring only 4 runs. Another opener, Steven Taylor, contributed a mere 12 runs from 15 balls.

After losing 3 wickets in the powerplay, Rangpur found some stability thanks to Pakistan's Iftikhar Ahmed and Khushdil Shah. Khushdil was dismissed for 21, but Iftikhar continued to anchor the innings. He was well-supported by captain Nurlul Hasan Sohan, who made a quick 41 runs off 24 balls before being dismissed.

Iftikhar remained unbeaten on 47 runs at the end of the innings, while Sheikh Mehedi Hasan contributed a cameo of 16 runs off 8 balls.

In reply, Sylhet Strikers were quickly in trouble. In the second over, Kamrul Islam Rabbi dismissed opener George Munsey. However, the other opener, Rony Talukdar, top-scored for Sylhet with 41 runs. Zakir Hasan, batting at number three, managed 18 runs off 12 balls.

Rony and Zakir were the only Sylhet batters to reach double figures. Zaker Ali Anik also made a modest 24 runs from 33 balls, while the rest of the batters struggled to settle. Nahid Rana took 4 wickets, while Mohammad Saifuddin was also effective, claiming 2 wickets for just 18 runs in his 4-over spell. Khushdil Shah’s spin bowling further destabilized Sylhet's batting line-up.

In the end, Sylhet Strikers were all out for 121 runs, falling short by 34 runs. With this victory, Rangpur Riders moved to the top of the points table. They had earlier defeated Dhaka Capitals by 40 runs the previous day.