Rangpur crowned NCL champions after Sylhet-Barishal draw

Rangpur Division secured the National Cricket League (NCL) four-day title on Tuesday, completing a rare double after having already won the tournament’s T20 edition earlier in October under the captaincy of Akbar Ali. Rangpur’s championship in the longer format, however, was sealed not through their own result alone but largely due to Sylhet’s failure to beat Barishal on the final day of the league.

Rangpur had put themselves in pole position on Monday by defeating Khulna by seven wickets, moving to the top of the points table with 31 points. The only scenario that could deny them the title was a Sylhet victory over Barishal. But the match in Sylhet ended in a draw on Tuesday, confirming Rangpur as champions, while Sylhet finished second with 28 points.

Meanwhile at the Rajshahi Divisional Stadium, Barishal controlled the final-round contest against Sylhet from the outset. Led by Tanvir Islam, they posted 312 in their first innings before restricting Sylhet to 287, gaining a 25-run lead. In their second innings, Iftakher Hossain Ifti smashed a superb 128 as Barishal declared on 294, setting Sylhet a challenging target of 320. Sylhet ended the final day on 187 for 5, with Mushfiqur Rahim scoring 53 and Asadullah Galib adding 61, but they ran out of time. Barishal captain Tanvir Islam and Moin Khan picked up two wickets each. Despite denying Sylhet a crucial win, Barishal themselves finished fifth with 20 points (2 wins, 3 losses, 2 draws), just behind Khulna who ended with 22 points.

In another final-round fixture, Mymensingh narrowly missed out on an unlikely win against Rajshahi. Resuming the last day needing 201 runs with only one wicket in hand, victory was virtually out of reach. Still, Abu Hider Rony produced one of the tournament's standout innings—a blistering 141 off 127 balls with 10 fours and 13 sixes—which reduced the margin of defeat. Mymensingh eventually lost by 146 runs but completed their debut NCL season in an impressive third place with 24 points.

Rajshahi finished at the bottom of the table with 18 points, while Chattogram (19 points) and Dhaka (19 points) secured sixth and seventh positions, respectively.