Rangpur Riders captain Nurul Hasan kept the faith on his big-hitting ability when his side needed an improbable 26 runs in the last over to win the game against defending champions Fortune Barishal in a high-voltage Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 2024-25 season clash at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium Thursday.
Barishal put up a handsome 197/5 and looked on course to win the game when Shaheen Shah Afridi broke the 91-run partnership between Iftikhar Ahmed and Khushdil Shah by removing the former with Rangpur still needing 41 runs off 13 balls.
Nurul came to the crease after the dismissal of Iftikhar and saw Khushdil hit two sixes in the penultimate over.
“That was the time when I believed we can win the game,” Nurul, who eventually hit all of the balls out of the park in the final over to score 30 runs, told the media in Sylhet after the match.
But a drama unfolded later with Jahandad Khan dismissing well-set Khushdil and Mahedi Hasan getting out for obstructing the field.
To worsen the situation further, Jahandad accounted for the wicket of Saifuddin to leave the equation an almost impossible one for Rangpur.
Nurul came to face Kyle Mayers, who had 26 runs in hand to defend.
No Bangladeshi batter earlier won the side a game by chasing more than 20 runs in the final over.
“Kamrul Islam Rabbi bhai was at the other end. He gave me the courage and I also backed myself. There was naturally a plan to play big shots and when I hit the first ball for six, I was boosted up mentally,” Nurul remarked.
“I thought if I got the ball in my zone, I will definitely hit it. Allah has been kind always. I got all of those balls in my zone and struck it in clean way.”
Nurul was unbeaten on 32 off seven, hitting three sixes and as many fours.
He termed it as his one of the best innings, since it won the game for his side.
“I bat in a position where things don’t go in favor always. It’s nothing new. But the best thing is that I can contribute something for my team. Since the innings won the team, it’s definitely one of the best innings of mine,” he said.
13TH MATCH
Fortune Barishal 197/5 (Mayers 61*, Shanto 41) lost to Rangpur Riders 202/7 (Khushdil 48, Iftikhar 48) by 3 wickets
