Rangpur stave off Sabbir 70 to clinch narrow win
Sabbir Rahman's 70 and Nasir Hossain's fighting half century were not enough as Sylhet lost their fourth completed game in a row
Sabbir Rahman's 70 and Nasir Hossain's fighting half century were not enough as Sylhet lost their fourth completed game in a row
Scorer: Ranjith P | Commentator: Sreshth Shah
9.58 pm That's all from Dhaka tonight. Lots of exciting performances today, but Rangpur Riders did just about enough to hold on to a tight win. Two matches tomorrow again at the BPL, and we look forward to seeing you there. Hope you enjoyed ESPNcricinfo's coverage from the Shere Bangla. Thank you for your company. Bye bye!
9.55 pm We're ready for the presentation.
Chris Gayle's fifty earns him the Man-of-the-Match award. He says: "Feeling better to be among the runs. Myself and McCullum gave a good start. It was slow start from me, to be honest, and their slower bowlers bowled well. Sabbir and Nasir batted well but our bowlers did really well at the death. Credit goes to our bowlers because we were struggling after the first three wickets. Great improvement in the field, and important for us to get back to our winning ways."
Nasir Hossain, the losing captain: "It's obviously correct that we wanted to finish well but to be honest they bowled well at the end. Positives are that our foreign players didn't bat well but the locals came to the party today. Lots to learn and we would've felt better if we could've finished with the win."
Mashrafe Mortaza, the winning captain: "We are looking for the win for the past three matches. Finally it has come. Big matches are coming up. Good thing that our momentum is coming back. The way Sabbir and Nasir batted, they nearly took the game away from us. Credit to them. The overs from Perera and from me were crucial, yes."
9.52 pm The target of 170 was just about enough as Rangpur Riders survived a scare after Nasir Hossain and Sabbir Rahman helped Sylhet Sixes recover from an early wobble. Sabbir was key if Sylhet had to win, but a terrific Mashrafe over towards the end completely shifted the momentum towards Rangpur. It was an epic match, dominated in parts by the batsmen but also by the bowlers in the middle overs. Gayle and McCullum added 80 for Ranpur and that set the tone for their team before Bopara smacked the ball around to help them finish on 169. That was just too much for Sylhet as they crumbled at the top and were always chasing the game thereafter. Sylhet's losing streak extends to four games now while Rangpur jump up on the table. Be back with the presentation soon.
Riazul Islam: "Already said, Sabbir needed to fininsh it off. Terrific Bowling from Mash. His over changed the Scene." -- Agreed completely, my man. Brilliant over from Mash, and now from Perera.
Sabbir Rahman's 70 and Nasir Hossain's fighting half century were not enough as Sylhet lost their fourth completed game in a row