Nasum shines as Sylhet outclass Rangpur in final home match

Hosts Sylhet Titans wrapped up their home-leg campaign on a high, defeating Rangpur Riders by six wickets to climb to second place in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) T20 at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Monday.

After opting to field first, Sylhet’s bowlers, led by in-form spinner Nasum Ahmed, delivered a jaw-dropping performance to bundle Rangpur out for just 114 in 19.1 overs. Nasum returned impressive figures of 3 for 19 from his four overs, while pacer Shohidul Islam (3-36) and Moeen Ali (2-8) shared five wickets between them.

In reply, Sylhet got off to a flying start through openers Parvez Hossain Emon and Tawfique Khan, who put on a 54-run stand. Tawfique was dismissed for a brisk 33 off 22 balls, an innings laced with four sixes and a four.

Ariful Islam chipped in with 21 off 26 balls at number three, but it was Emon who anchored the chase with a composed unbeaten 52 off 41 deliveries, featuring three fours and three sixes. The left-hander brought up his third half-century of the tournament in style, striking the winning six off Iftikhar Ahmed over deep extra cover to guide Sylhet to 119 for four in 17.3 overs. For Rangpur, Nahid Rana claimed 2 for 18 from three overs.

The victory marked Sylhet’s fifth win in nine matches -- three of them coming in their last four outings -- and kept them firmly in contention for a playoff berth.

Rangpur, meanwhile, slipped further after suffering their third consecutive defeat and now sit fourth in the points table with eight points from as many matches.

Despite it being a working day, a large crowd turned up for Sylhet’s final home match of the season and were treated to an early onslaught by the home bowlers, who reduced Rangpur to 27 for three.

Shohidul Islam, playing his first match of the tournament, removed Tawhid Hridoy (4) and the dangerous-looking Litton Das (22 off 12) after Nasum had provided the initial breakthrough by dismissing Kyle Mayers for a duck.

Khushdil Shah top-scored for Rangpur with 30 off 24 balls, but his run-out triggered a collapse as the Riders slumped to 96 for nine and appeared in danger of being bowled out before reaching 100. Mahmudullah added a fighting 29 off 23 balls but was dismissed as the last batter, leaving Rangpur with a total that was never enough to defend given Sylhet’s strong start.

After the match, Sylhet players took a victory lap around the ground in front of their supporters to mark their final appearance at the venue this season.

The contest, however, was briefly disrupted by a technological issue, as a power outage rendered the DRS unavailable for around half an hour during Sylhet’s innings.