Sports Desk: Rangpur needed 6 runs off 54 balls to win the National Cricket League T20 title. 5 wickets in hand. Enamul Haque hit two fours off two short balls from spinner Rakibul to level the equation.
Final match. Title-deciding battle. The two best teams of the tournament faced each other once again. However, the match was completely heatless and chaotic on a sunny day at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium. Rangpur Division had the last laugh after the uncompetitive final.
You must be really surprised to hear the target of the match. Batting first, Dhaka Metro’s capital was only 62. Rangpur lost 5 wickets to score that run, but they did not miss the target. Rangpur players got into the frenzy of the title with 52 balls in hand.
The batting of both teams was the same. Top and middle order batsmen were in a procession. Dhaka Metro lost 5 wickets to score 16 runs. Rangpur lost 4 wickets for 18 runs. From there, Ariful and Tanvir’s 24-run partnership took Rangpur to victory. Ariful returned to the dressing room after hitting spinner Rakibul for a six and a four, but Tanvir left the field with the team winning, like in the last match.
Earlier, Dhaka Metro’s pair got success in the third over of Alis Al Islam. Abdullah Al Mamun took a catch at long off while playing a slog sweep. Naeem was cut down by catching behind the wicket. Abu Haider Rony, coming to bowl his first over, trapped Rizwan LBW. Then Akbar Ali got the bitter taste of a golden duck in a direct throw by Tahjibul.
Despite losing 4 wickets in a hurry, Rangpur did not lose the title. They lost the last laugh of the tournament. Earlier, they lost to Dhaka Metro in the round-robin league. But they took sweet revenge by winning the final match after the first qualifier.
Dhaka Metro’s innings, which was invited by Rangpur, had a similar picture. 5 batsmen were dismissed after 16 runs on the scoreboard. Both pacers ruined Dhaka Metro’s innings with the new ball. Imranuzzaman, who started the innings with a four, took a point catch while trying to fly Mughad with the second ball. In the second over, Naeem Sheikh took a catch behind the wicket while standing in place of Alauddin Babu’s ball and playing a drive.
Mughad returned to Rangpur with a double success in the third over. After bowling Anisul Islam with a great inswing, Aminul Islam got Biplok to the slip with the first ball. Tahjibul Islam, who got the opportunity instead of Marshal Ayub, could not utilize the opportunity. He was bowled by Alauddin Babu and returned to the dressing room.
Mosaddek and Shamsur added 17 runs in the sixth wicket partnership. But when these two batsmen returned to the dressing room with a gap of just 5 runs, Dhaka Metro’s hopes of a big innings were over. After that, only the tailenders fought. Abu Haider Rony showed hope in that fight. He scored 13 runs in 9 balls with 2 fours. But when he was run out due to a misunderstanding with Shahidul, Dhaka Metro’s last hope was also over. Where eight batsmen of the team could not reach double figures, there is no hope of big capital.
Mukidul Islam Mughd and Alauddin Babu were the best for Rangpur with 3 wickets each. Rabiul, Rizwan, and Arif took 1 wicket.
The National League T20 was organized after a long time with seven divisional teams and Dhaka Metro. The promise of organizing this competition every year has been fulfilled. Rangpur got Tk 20 lakh as the champion in the first edition. Runner-up Dhaka Metro got Tk 10 lakh.
