Rangpur Riders’ bright start to the tournament has faded into a worrying slump after they suffered a third straight defeat, this time a comfortable six-wicket loss to Sylhet Titans at the Sylhet Stadium.
Rangpur had looked dominant early on, winning four of their first five matches, including a hat-trick of victories. Led by Nurul Hasan Sohan, they appeared firmly on course for the latter stages. That momentum, however, has stalled sharply over the past few days.
Their last win came on Monday, when they beat Chattogram Royals by five wickets at the Sylhet International Stadium. Since then, Rangpur have slipped up repeatedly at the same venue — first losing by nine runs to Noakhali Express after failing to chase 149, then going down by seven wickets to Rajshahi Warriors, before today’s one-sided defeat against the hosts.
Chasing a modest target of 115, Sylhet Titans made a flying start, reaching 53 without loss inside the powerplay. The first breakthrough arrived in the seventh over when Towfiq Khan Tushar was caught at first slip by Mahmudullah Riyad while attempting a slog sweep off Sufian Muqim. Tushar scored 33 from 22 balls, striking one four and four sixes.
Ariful Islam briefly steadied the innings, adding 21 from 26 deliveries with two fours and a six, before being trapped lbw by Naim Hasan in the 13th over. At 84 for 2, Sylhet were firmly in control and never looked in danger thereafter.
There was a brief wobble late in the chase when Afif Hossain Dhruv was caught at deep midwicket by Mohammad Nabi off Nahid Rana for 12, followed by Ethan Brooks being bowled for a duck on the final ball of the same over. The interruption proved insignificant as Parvez Hossain Emon finished the match in the 18th over, launching Iftekhar Ahmed for six. Emon remained unbeaten on 52 from 41 balls, with three fours and three sixes.
Earlier, Sylhet captain Mehedi Hasan Miraz won the toss and opted to field. Rangpur’s batting never gathered momentum and at one stage they were reeling at 96 for 9 in 16.3 overs, facing the prospect of being dismissed for under 100.
Mahmudullah Riyad provided some resistance from number seven, scoring 29 from 23 balls with four fours, but Salman Irshad removed him with the first delivery of the 20th over to bring the innings to a close at 114 in 19.1 overs. Khushdil Shah top-scored with 30 from 24 balls, hitting three fours and a six.
Nasum Ahmed and Shahidul Islam claimed three wickets apiece for Sylhet, with Nasum finishing with figures of 3 for 19 from four overs. Moeen Ali bowled a miserly spell, taking 2 for 8 from four overs, including a maiden. Nasum Ahmed was named player of the match.
