Sylhet Strikers edged Fortune Barishal by two runs in a thrilling encounter between the top two teams of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2023 points-table at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on Tuesday.
In a see-saw contest, where momentum shifted multiple times, Barishal finished on 171-8 in their 20 overs, falling agonisingly short of the 174-run target set by the table-toppers.
Ibrahim Zadran top scored with 42 off 37 balls but it was Saif Hassan’s 31 off 19 balls, Shakib Al Hasan’s 29 off 18 balls and Karim Janat’s 12-balll 21 that nearly took Barishal over the line.
For Sylhet, pacer Rejaur Rahman was the star bowler as he finished with 3-41.
Barishal looked well in contention of chasing down the target up until the 14th over, when Rejaur clean bowled Zadran and Shakib to reduce them to 108-4.
Rejaur was then entrusted to bowl the final over where he had 15 runs to defend.
After bowling a wide ball first up, Rejaur got the crucial wicket of the hard-hitting Pakistani batter Iftikhar Ahmed (17 off 13 balls).
The very next delivery, Mehidy Hasan Miraz (seven off four balls) got run out at the striker’s end courtesy of a direct hit by Mushfiqur Rahim and his dismissal decided which way the match was going to end.
Earlier, opener Najmul Hossain Shanto played a stellar innings of 89 off 66 balls and debutant Tom Moores chipped in with 40 off 30 balls to power Sylhet to 173-5 in their 20 overs.
Shanto struck 11 fours and one six in a hard-hitting knock and made sure Sylhet posted a daunting total after losing three wickets inside three overs.
Shanto along with Moores added 81 runs off 71 balls for the second wicket to steady the innings after they were reduced to 15-3.
The partnership ended when Shakib Al Hasan removed Moores, reducing them to 96-4 after 13.5 overs.
Shanto, who was batting on 48 off 47 balls when Moores got dismissed, then unleashed an array of strokes against the Sylhet bowlers.
The left-hander hit eight fours in the next 19 balls he faced to take Sylhet to a commanding total, which in the end proved sufficient.