Rangpur won a thrilling match against Dhaka by 1 wicket on Thursday in the NCL eliminator at Sylhet International Stadium. With this win, Rangpur reached the qualifier-2, while Mahidul Islam Ankon’s Dhaka were eliminated from the tournament.
Dhaka won the toss and chose to bat first. They scored 123 runs, powered by Mosaddek Hossain’s 61 runs in 36 balls, including six sixes and two fours. The team was struggling at 26 for 4 when Mosaddek came in. Dhaka’s second-highest scorer was Shuvagata Hom with 15 runs. For Rangpur, Nasum, Nasir, and Abu Hashim took two wickets each.
Akbar led the chase for Rangpur and scored a team-high 44 runs. When he arrived at the crease, Rangpur had lost four wickets and had 40 runs on the board. The team then lost their fifth and sixth wickets at 48 and 52 runs. In this challenging situation, Akbar and all-rounder Nasum Ahmed built a 62-run partnership in 41 balls to take the team closer to the target.
The pair guided Rangpur steadily towards victory. The match turned tense again in the 19th over when spinner Raihan Rafsan took two quick wickets for just two runs, that too with too hands, as he is an ambidextrous bowler. Nasum and Alauddin Babu were dismissed in that over. Dhaka’s Mahfuzur Rahman took three wickets in the innings.
In the final over, Rangpur needed 8 runs to win, while Dhaka needed two wickets. Captain Akbar Ali was on strike with 40 runs. He scored four off the first ball with a scoop shot against Ripon Mondol. Victory seemed close for Rangpur.
But on the next ball, Akbar was caught by Ariful Islam off Ripon’s delivery. Rangpur needed 4 runs from 4 balls with the last pair at the crease. After two singles, bowler Abdul Gaffar, who came in as the last batsman, hit a four on the fifth ball to seal the win for Rangpur.
Akbar was named player of the match for his performance.
