DE Online Desk:
Rangpur Riders have crashed Sylhet Strikers by 8 wickets on Monday (January 6) at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium. Rony Talukder’s 54, along with Zakir Hasan’s gutsy 50 and at the backend of the innings Aaron Jones blasted 38* off only 19 balls to help Sylhet Strikers get to 205 runs on the board.
Rangpur Riders needed a destructive innings from one of their batters to chase down a daunting target of 206 against Sylhet Strikers and Alex Hales became that man. The former England opener smashed a scintillating century, leading his team to a remarkable 8-wicket victory.
Saif Hassan also played a pivotal role with an explosive 80-run knock, ensuring Rangpur’s fourth consecutive win in the tournament.
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This victory marked one of the highest successful run-chases in BPL history.
The chase didn’t begin smoothly for Rangpur. In the very first over, Azizul Hakim Tamim registered a second consecutive duck in the tournament, falling to Tanzim Hasan Sakib. However, Saif and Hales turned the game around with a record-breaking 186-run partnership for the second wicket.
The duo dominated Sylhet’s bowlers, unleashing a flurry of boundaries and sixes. It seemed like a competition between the two batters to outshine each other.
Saif’s innings ended just 18 runs shy of victory when he was dismissed attempting another six. His 80-run knock came off 49 balls, featuring 7 sixes and 3 fours at a strike rate of 163.26.
Hales, however, stayed unbeaten, scoring a magnificent 113 off just 56 balls at an extraordinary strike rate of 201.78, hitting 10 fours and 7 sixes. This was Hales’ second BPL century, his first coming in 2019 for Rangpur Riders.
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Sylhet’s early momentum, courtesy of Sakib’s early wicket, faded quickly as Hales and Saif dismantled their bowling attack. Despite their efforts, Sylhet’s bowlers had no answer to the relentless onslaught from the Rangpur duo.
After losing the toss, Sylhet batted first and posted a formidable total of 205 for 4. Openers George Munsey and Rony Talukdar provided a solid start with a 47-run partnership.
Although Munsey departed for 18 off Akif Javed’s delivery, Rony anchored the innings with a commanding 54 off 36 balls, featuring three sixes and seven fours. Zakir Hasan also impressed with a half-century, scoring 50 before being dismissed by Mohammad Saifuddin.
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Paul Stirling fell to Saifuddin as well, but Sylhet’s late surge was powered by Aaron Jones and Jakir Ali Anik. Jones remained unbeaten on 38 off 19 balls, while Anik smashed 20 off just five deliveries, pushing the score past 200.
For Rangpur, Saifuddin was the pick of the bowlers, taking 2 wickets for 31 runs. Mehedi Hasan and Akif Javed chipped in with one wicket each.
