Rangpur skittled for 114 as Titans bowlers dominate

Bangla Press Desk:  Rangpur Riders’ confidence took another blow as they were bundled out for 114 with five balls to spare against Sylhet Titans on Monday at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.

After losing the toss and being sent in to bat in their final match in Sylhet, Rangpur were rocked early as both openers were dismissed inside the first two overs. 

Kyle Mayers was bowled for a duck by Nasum Ahmed, while Towhid Hridoy fell for four to Shahidul Islam.

Litton Das briefly counter-attacked with four boundaries but was also removed by Shahidul in the following over for 22 off 12 balls, leaving Rangpur struggling at 35 for three in the powerplay.

Although Iftikhar Ahmed added 40 for the fourth wicket, the scoring rate remained subdued. Iftikhar was dismissed for 17 in the 11th over, triggering a collapse. Rangpur lost two wickets in two balls to Nasum in the 16th over and slid to 96 for nine, raising doubts over whether they would even reach three figures.

Mahmudullah ensured Rangpur crossed 100 with a fighting 29 off 23 balls, including four fours, before he was dismissed by Salman Irshad off the first ball of the final over. Khushdil Shah top-scored with 30 as Rangpur’s innings ended at 114.

For Sylhet, Moeen Ali returned excellent figures of 2 for 8 from four overs, while Nasum Ahmed and Shahidul Islam picked up three wickets each.

BP/SP