Fizz, Mahmudullah shine as Rangpur return to winning ways

Rangpur Riders returned to winning ways with a six-wicket victory over Sylhet Titans in their third match of the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) T20 at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Friday.

Rangpur's bowlers laid the foundation after the side, which had suffered a Super Over defeat to Rajshahi Warriors a day earlier, opted to field first. Faheem Ashraf (3-18) and Mustafizur Rahman (3-24) shared six wickets as Sylhet were restricted to 144 for eight in their 20 overs.

Mustafizur also reached a personal milestone, becoming the fastest pacer to take 400 wickets in T20 cricket. Starting the match on 399 wickets, he achieved the feat by dismissing Sylhet captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz in his opening over and later one more wicket to finish with a tally of 402 wickets in 315 matches.

Afif Hossain top-scored for Sylhet with 46 off 31 balls, while Ethan Brooks contributed 32 off 30 but the rest of the batting failed to offer meaningful support.

In reply, Rangpur started cautiously and despite contributions from Litton Das (35) and Kyle Mayers (31), slipped to 95 for four in 14.5 overs. The match then turned decisively in Rangpur's favour as Mahmudullah struck an unbeaten 34 off 16 balls, highlighted by four consecutive boundaries off Miraz in the 16th over.

Khushdil Shah chipped in with a brisk 19 off 11 balls, and the pair added an unbroken 50-run stand off just 24 deliveries to guide Rangpur to 145 for four in 18.5 overs, sealing their second win in three matches.

Sylhet, meanwhile, slipped to fourth place with two wins from four matches.