13 November 2025

Riders' title dream shattered by heavy defeat in final

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Banglapress Published: 23 September 2025, 10:25 AM
Riders' title dream shattered by heavy defeat in final
  Bangla Press Desk:  Rangpur Riders' hopes of retaining their championship title were crushed as they endured a crushing 32-run defeat at the hands of Guyana Amazon Warriors in the final of the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League. The one-sided contest unfolded at Providence Stadium in Guyana on Saturday, bringing a disappointing end to the Riders’ title defense. Chasing 197, Riders were in early trouble after opener Ibrahim Zadran (5 off 4) was run out in the second over. Soumya Sarkar offered a glimmer of hope with a couple of early boundaries but fell soon after for 13 off 14 deliveries. Kyle Mayers, one of the three changes in the Riders’ XI, also failed to fire, managing only 5 off 10 balls before departing in the sixth over, leaving Rangpur reeling at 32 for 3 after the powerplay. A spirited 73-run stand between Saif Hassan and Iftikhar Ahmed temporarily revived the chase. Saif played an aggressive knock of 41 from 26 balls before being run out in the 13th over due to a terrible mix-up with Iftikhar. The equation still stood steep – 95 runs needed from 45 deliveries. Iftikhar, who scored 46 off 29 balls, was trapped leg-before by Dwaine Pretorius in the 15th over. The same over also saw the dismissal of Azmatullah Omarzai (3 off 6), who tried to go big under pressure.
Captain Nurul Hasan Sohan couldn’t rescue the team either, falling for 5 from 5 deliveries to opposition skipper Imran Tahir, who then dismissed Khaled Ahmed (0 off 2) in the same over to tighten the noose. Mahidul Islam Ankon (30 off 17) provided some late fireworks before getting dismissed in the last over, but his efforts were only enough to reduce the margin of defeat. Riders' innings folded for 164, with only one delivery to spare. For the Warriors, Dwaine Pretorius starred with the ball, claiming 3 wickets, while Imran Tahir and Gudakesh Motie bagged two crucial scalps each. Earlier, Warriors captain Imran Tahir opted to bat first – marking the first time in the tournament that Riders were put into the field, having batted first in all four of their league matches.
Riders made three changes to their line-up, bringing in Mayers, Omarzai, and Tabraiz Shamsi in place of Yasir Ali, Rakibul Hasan, and Harmeet Singh. Despite a promising start with Khaled Ahmed removing Evin Lewis (5 off 9) in the fourth over, the Warriors quickly seized momentum. Johnson Charles and Rahmanullah Gurbaz stitched together a blistering 121-run partnership off just 69 balls. Charles played a steady hand, retiring out on 67 from 48 deliveries, while Gurbaz hammered 66 off 38 balls. Rangpur briefly clawed back into the contest with quick wickets — Gurbaz falling to Shamsi and Hetmyer (0 off 2) to Iftikhar Ahmed — but the momentum was short-lived. Sherfane Rutherford (19* off 15) and Romario Shepherd (28* off 9) unleashed a late blitz, their unbeaten 48-run stand off just 22 balls powering the Warriors to a mammoth 196 — the highest team total of the season. To secure consecutive GSL titles, Rangpur Riders had to pull off the biggest chase of the tournament.  This article was originally published on Daily Sun.
[Bangla Press is a global platform for free thought. It provides impartial news, analysis, and commentary for independent-minded individuals. Our goal is to bring about positive change, which is more important today than ever before.
 BP> SP
[Bangla Press is a global platform for free thought. It provides impartial news, analysis, and commentary for independent-minded individuals. Our goal is to bring about positive change, which is more important today than ever before.]

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