Rangpur Riders Secures Hat-Trick Victory in BPL with 8-Wicket Win Over Fortune Barishal

Rangpur Riders achieved their third consecutive win in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), defeating Fortune Barishal by 8 wickets. Barishal, batting first, managed to score only 124 runs. In response, Rangpur comfortably chased down the target with 5 overs to spare, losing just 2 wickets.

In the second match of the day at Mirpur Shere Bangla Cricket Stadium on Thursday, Barishal, led by Tamim Iqbal, lost the toss and were put to bat first. As in the previous match, Barishal struggled with the bat. Nazmul Hossain Shanto was dismissed for just 9 runs, and Towhid Hridoy followed soon after, scoring only 4 runs.

The situation worsened for Barishal when Tamim Iqbal was dismissed by Nahid Rana's pace attack, managing just 28 runs off 18 balls with 5 fours and 1 six. Both Kyle Mayers and Mushfiqur Rahim also failed to stabilize the innings, getting out for 13 and 15 runs, respectively.

Barishal continued to lose wickets at regular intervals, and despite a late effort from Mohammad Nabi (21 runs off 19 balls), they were bowled out for just 124 runs, 10 balls before the innings concluded.

For Rangpur Riders, Khushdil Shah claimed 3 wickets, while Nahid Rana and Iftikhar Ahmed each took 2 wickets.

Chasing a modest target of 125 runs, Rangpur Riders faced an early setback when Iqbal Hossain Iman struck twice, dismissing Azizul Hakim Tamim and Tawfiq Khan for ducks. However, Alex Hales and Saif Hassan formed a crucial partnership, adding 113 runs in 81 balls for the third wicket to steer Rangpur towards victory.

Rangpur reached the target comfortably in just 15 overs, losing 2 wickets. Hales remained unbeaten on 49 runs from 41 balls, while Saif Hassan top-scored with 62 not out from 46 balls, including 6 fours and 3 sixes. Saif’s match-winning performance earned him the Player of the Match award.