Hridoy ton upstages Eishakil’s 107 as Rangpur beat Noakhali

Rangpur Riders opener Tawhid Hridoy hit a blistering ton to upstage Noakhali Express batter Hassan Eisakhil’s ton as Rangpur won by eight wickets in both team’s final league phase match in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) match at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium today.

Courtesy of the win, Rangpur rose to third position in the standings with 12 points but could not overtake Chattogram Royals, who have the same number of points at a healthier net run-rate. Rangpur will now have to play them in the eliminator.

Meanwhile, with the defeat, Noakhali, the newest side in the BPL, finished their maiden campaign with just two wins in 10 games.

In today’s game, chasing Noakhali’s 173 for 2, Hridoy dominated the opposition attack from early on, picking up his fifty in 27 deliveries. 

Dawid Malan struggled to 15 off 17 deliveries before departing in the ninth over. Hridoy and skipper Litton Das then put on an 87-run stand off 62 deliveries with Hridoy notching his ton in 57 deliveries. He perished to Hasan Mahmud in the 19th over, out bowled after a 63-ball 109 laced with 15 fours and two sixes. 

Rangpur scored the required six runs in the final over with two balls to spare, reaching 174-2 with a wide from Mahedi Hasan. Litton remained unbeaten on 39 off 35 balls.

Earlier, Noakhali struggled early on losing, Rahmat Ali in the Powerplay and Jaker Ali Anik in the eighth over. 

After 12 overs, Noakhali were scoring at just over five runs per over. Eishakil reached a run-a-ball fifty and then accelerated to hit an unbeaten 107 off 72 deliveries, laced with four fours and eleven sixes. Skipper Haider Ali also contributed 42 off 32.