Rajshahi secure top-two finish with narrow win over Sylhet

Bangla Press Desk:   Ripon Mondol’s four-wicket haul guided the Rajshahi Warriors to a tense five-run victory over the Sylhet Titans, securing them a top-two finish in the Bangladesh Premier League on Friday.

The win lifted Rajshahi to 14 points with one league match remaining, guaranteeing them a place in the first qualifier, while Sylhet finished the group stage on 10 points and will now have to progress through the eliminator.

Put in to bat, Rajshahi were restricted to 147 for eight at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.

After early losses of Tanzid Hasan and Sahibzada Farhan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Najmul Hossain Shanto stabilised the innings with a 56-run stand for the third wicket. Shanto struck 34 off 21 balls before being trapped lbw by Mehidy Hasan Miraz in the ninth over.

Rajshahi struggled to accelerate thereafter, adding 64 runs in the remaining 11 overs while losing five wickets. Mushfiqur top-scored with 40 off 30 balls, while Abdul Gaffar Saqlain chipped in with 16 off 11 to push the total past 140.

Shohidul Islam and Nasum Ahmed claimed two wickets each for Sylhet, with Ruyel Miah, Mehidy and Moeen Ali picking up one apiece. Moeen conceded just 16 runs from his four overs.

Sylhet’s chase suffered early setbacks as Tawfiq Khan and Mehidy fell cheaply, but Parvez Hossain and Mominul Haque added 49 runs to revive the innings. Parvez scored 41 off 30 balls before being dismissed lbw.

Mominul and Afif Hossain added a further 32 runs, but the chase lost momentum after both fell in quick succession, followed by Ethan Brookes.

Moeen Ali’s late assault, scoring 27 off 12 balls, briefly swung the match in Sylhet’s favour, leaving them needing 13 runs from the final 10 deliveries.

However, Ripon struck to remove Moeen, who was caught at deep extra cover, before Binura Fernando closed out the match despite carrying an injury.

Ripon finished with four wickets to anchor Rajshahi’s narrow victory.

BP/TD