Captain Nurul Hasan hammered a record 30 runs in the final over as Rangpur Riders sealed a thrilling three-wicket win over Fortune Barishal in their Bangladesh Premier League match at the Sylhet International Stadium on Thursday.聽
Requiring an improbable 26 runs to win in the final over, Nurul left everyone spellbound with his panache as he blasted three sixes and as many boundaries off West Indies all-rounder Kyle Mayers to send the fans into delirium and seal Rangpur鈥檚 sixth win in as many games.
Barishal posted a hefty 197-5 and looked all set to win the game. Nurul, after coming to the crease in the 18th over and seeing three of his team-mates get dismissed, hit the first ball鈥攁 low full toss鈥攐ver the wide long-on for a six.聽
The 31-year-old then hit three more fours and two sixes to clinch an unlikely victory.
This is now the third highest number of runs scored in the final over of a chase in T20s after Kent鈥檚 34 runs in a nine-ball over against Somerset in the T20 Blast in 2015, which was in a losing cause, and Kolkata Knight Riders鈥� 31 against Gujarat Titans in IPL 2023.
Later, Nurul said that there was belief before the start of the over that they could chase it down despite needing 39 from the last 12 balls.聽
鈥楰hushdil was saying that it could be possible after hitting two sixes in the previous over when I got in,鈥� Nurul told the reporters after the match.聽
鈥楨ventually, when [Kamrul Islam] Rabbi bhai came and we needed 26, he said, 鈥淵ou play out the six balls, I think, Insha鈥檃llah if you鈥檙e in a good shape and hit, we will win.鈥� And after hitting the first ball for six, the feeling grew that it was possible,鈥� he added.聽
Iftikhar Ahmed (48 off 36) and Khushdil Shah (48 off 24) lifted Rangpur to a pretty good position in their fourth wicket partnership of 91 runs off 53 balls.聽
But four wickets鈥攊ncluding an obstructing the field (Mahedi Hasan)鈥攊n seven balls put Barishal ahead. Nurul, though, thought otherwise.聽
The successful chase also reminded Nurul of a failed cause against India in the 2022 T20 World Cup at the Adelaide Oval when Bangladesh needed 20 from the last over.聽
鈥楢fter winning the match, it reminded me of the match of the T20 World Cup against India,鈥� said Nurul.
鈥楶robably 20 runs were needed; we scored 15 or 16 [14]. From the last ball, maybe six were needed to win [actually to tie] the match. It was not to be. Maybe we lost the match by five or six runs.
鈥楾hough, 20 was needed, in a stage like the World Cup, it could鈥檝e felt different. But Allah can give you respect. And thanks to Allah that I could contribute to my team,鈥� added Nurul.聽
Earlier, Barishal, who started the innings slowly, got a big total thanks to various contributions from the top four and number six鈥擣aheem Ashraf.聽
Tamim Iqbal (40 off 34) and Najmul Hossain Shanto (41 off 30)鈥攂oth openers鈥攃rossed 40 and added 81 for the first wicket.聽
Despite them being out in the same over, Barishal kept building thanks to Mayers鈥攚ho top-scored by 61 off 29鈥攁nd Towhid Hridoy (23 off 18). Faheem then lifted them close to 200 by hammering 20 off six.聽
Interestingly, Barishal scored 44 runs from the last two overs and later failed to defend 39, including 26 from the last one.聽
Tamim, who was not on the field due to injury in the last over, credited Nurul for his brilliance.聽
鈥楢bsolutely brilliant game,鈥� said the Barishal captain. 鈥楳aybe we came last, but a lot of credit has to go to Nurul Hasan Sohan. The way he batted is unbelievable. Whoever the bowler is, 26 from the last over is never easy.鈥�
Rangpur has now extended their lead by six points at the table to Barishal, who鈥檝e got six from five matches.聽
