Rangpur Riders 177 for 6 (McCullum 43, Ziaur Rahman 36) beat Sylhet Sixers 173 for 5 (Azam 54, Sabbir 44, Nazmul 3-18) by four wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Rangpur Riders once again left it late in a chase, as they beat Sylhet Sixers by four wickets with two balls to spare. Mashrafe Mortaza was their slog-overs hero this time, hammering a six off the second ball of the final over with his team needing eight to win. The win was set up by Brendon McCullum's 43 at No. 3, and his 59-run partnership off 30 balls with opener Ziaur Rahman (36). Allrounder Ravi Bopara chipped in with 33 at No. 5 as Rangpur overcame the impact of Sylhet's near-ten-runs-per-over carnage in the last 12 overs of their innings after after being put in. Sylhet's sixth defeat more or less puts them out of the competition.
Nazmul Islam, the left-arm spinner with the quirky celebration routine, removed Nurul Hasan, Nasir Hossain and Andre Fletcher by the eighth over. Nurul was adjudged lbw when he missed a sweep, while Nasir was stumped when he needlessly hoicked at one. Fletcher was caught in the deep for a 17-ball 26. Babar Azam and Sabbir Rahman then added 74 runs for the fourth wicket, with Azam reaching his first BPL fifty. He made 54 off 37 balls with four fours and a six, while Sabbir struck five fours in his 44 off 37 balls. Ross Whiteley and Tim Bresnan struck one six each in the last five overs as Sylhet posted a competitive total.
After Chris Gayle's early departure, Ziaur and McCullum, batting at No. 3 for the first time in the tournament, added 59 runs in just five overs. Ziaur hit five fours and two sixes in his 18-ball 36, while McCullum batted till the 15th over for his 43 off 38 balls.
Sylhet took regular wickets after that stand, removing Mohammad Mithun, McCullum, Samiullah Shenwari and Ravi Bopara, to reduce Rangpur to 146 for 6 in the 18th over. Bopara - who was dropped twice - and Shenwari were both run out.
Nahidul Islam struck two fours in his unbeaten 14 off seven balls, while Mashrafe kept his cool at the other end as the two combined to make the last 31 runs in only 2.2 overs.