Rangpur Triumphs Amid Sylhets Failures, Sparks Stir in Championship Race

Sylhet’s decline began in the National Cricket League. It wasn’t that Sylhet played terribly; in fact, they had secured the title with one match remaining that season. As a result, they fielded several changes in their final match, giving opportunities to young players from the dugout. Their regular star pacers were rested, allowing the reserve bowlers to play. After a year, Safar Ali also returned to bowling.

Sylhet’s biggest area of frustration had long been their batting. Only Amit Hasan showed consistent form with the bat. Despite the failures of Sylhet’s batters, Farhad Reza’s Rajshahi finished the season with a victory.

This downward trend echoed again in the NCL’s T20 format. Even with the best bowling lineup in the country, Sylhet finished the season in seventh place. The team struggled in both batting and bowling; even the top bowlers seemed out of rhythm. National team pacer Ebadot Hossain picked up only 10 wickets in 5 matches, while Khaled Ahmed failed to reach even that. Their economy rates were also disappointing.

Sylhet’s struggles continued in this season’s NCL T20 as well. Both batters and bowlers were out of form, forcing Sylhet to finish near the bottom of the table.

However, in the four-day National Cricket League, Sylhet entered as the defending champions.

After failing to win four consecutive matches, Sylhet revived hope in the fifth round with Abu Jayed Rahi’s double five-wicket haul, beating Chattogram with ease. This win reignited their momentum. They followed it up with a dominant victory over Rajshahi at home, shining in both batting and bowling. Talented young batter Amit Hasan, who had been single-handedly carrying the batting since his debut, scored his second double century. Asadullah Al Galib also played a superb innings of 185. Together, Amit (213) and Galib (185) shared a 342-run stand, helping Sylhet post over 500 runs.

Rajshahi then crumbled against the bowling duo of Nabil Samad and Rahi, losing by 10 wickets. Rahi picked up 6 wickets across the two innings, while Nabil took 4 in one innings and 3 in the other.

With back-to-back 10-wicket victories over Chattogram and Rajshahi, Sylhet climbed to the top of the points table. They were only 2 points ahead of newcomers Mymensingh. Victory in the final match was non-negotiable.

In the last round, Sylhet took on Barishal in Rajshahi. Although Sylhet’s bowlers controlled Barishal early on, their batters failed to take the lead. In reply to Barishal’s 312, Sylhet collapsed to 47 for 4. Captain Zakir Hasan rescued the innings, scoring a century after five consecutive fifties. He stitched a crucial 106-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Ashraful Islam Rihad. But once Zakir fell early on Day 3 for 130, Sylhet’s innings did not last long.

Young pace all-rounder Tofael Ahmed was Sylhet’s last hope with the bat. Coming in as the final batter, he scored a valuable 41 and added 67 runs for the eighth wicket with Sahanur Rahman, taking the total to 287.

In their second innings, Barishal added 294 runs, thanks to Iftikhar Hossain Iftee’s unbeaten 128. For Sylhet, Tofael picked up 3 wickets, Rahi 2, while Sahanur, Nasum Ahmed, and Mohiuddin Tareq claimed one each.

Chasing the target, Sylhet lost 4 wickets for 69 in 20 overs. From that point, they no longer seemed intent on winning. Mushfiqur Rahim and Asadullah Galib put together an 85-run stand for the fifth wicket but consumed too many deliveries. Sylhet eventually finished on 187 for 5 in 59 overs. For Barishal, Tanvir Islam and Moin Khan took 2 wickets each, while Tawhidul Islam Russell claimed one.

Sylhet’s draw against Barishal and Mymensingh’s defeat against Rajshahi paved the way for Rangpur to become champions. After the 2021-22 season, the title once again returned to Rangpur Division.

In Mirpur, Dhaka Division defeated Chattogram by an innings. The match was headlined by centuries from Anisul Islam Imon (186), Marshall Ayub (165), and Ashiqur Rahman Shibli (100). Marshall Ayub also crossed the milestone of 10,000 first-class runs.