Sylhet Titans edged past Rangpur Riders by three wickets on the final ball on Tuesday to reach the second qualifier of the Bangladesh Premier League, chasing down 112 in a tense eliminator at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur.
Defending a modest total, Rangpur threw everything they had at Sylhet. Towfiq Khan Tushar was dismissed on the fifth ball of the innings, setting the tone for a dramatic chase. Nahid Rana generated sharp pace from one end, Mustafizur Rahman mixed his variations effectively, and Aliss Al Islam troubled the batters with turn, but the pressure was not enough to force a collapse.
Sylhet recovered from early setbacks through a crucial 50-run partnership between Sam Billings and captain Mehedi Hasan Miraz after they slipped to 44 for 4. The pair steadied the innings and dragged the chase back on track before the match built towards a nervy finish.
Needing nine runs from the final over, Moeen Ali took two from the first ball before failing to score from the next two deliveries. He was then dismissed, holing out to a good-length ball from Faheem Ashraf, leaving the contest finely poised.
A single off the fifth ball put Chris Woakes on strike, and the England all-rounder delivered under pressure, driving Faheem Ashraf through extra cover for a six off the final delivery to clinch victory and eliminate Rangpur from the tournament.
Earlier in the chase, Sylhet had been steadied by a 35-run stand between Parvez Hossain Emon and Ariful Haque. However, Rangpur struck back swiftly as Aliss and Nahid combined to remove three wickets within six runs. Emon, who made 18, edged a turning delivery from Aliss to Nurul Hasan Sohan, while Ariful was caught at mid-on pulling a Nahid bouncer, with Mahmudullah Riyad completing the catch. Aliss later uprooted Afif Hossain’s off stump to keep Rangpur in the contest.
Rangpur’s problems had begun in the first innings after they were sent in to bat. Chris Woakes and Khaled Ahmed made immediate inroads with the new ball, reducing them to three wickets down inside 11 runs. Tawhid Hridoy edged behind to Parvez Emon, Liton Das fell to Khaled’s outswinger, and David Malan was also dismissed cheaply.
Mahmudullah’s 33 from 26 balls and Khushdil Shah’s 30 from 19 helped Rangpur crawl past 100 on a difficult night for their top order. Both were dismissed by left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed, who finished with two wickets for 12 runs from four overs.
The standout performance, however, came from Khaled, who delivered career-best figures of four for 14. After striking twice in his opening spell, he returned to remove Nurul Hasan Sohan and Faheem Ashraf, ensuring Rangpur’s innings never recovered.
