Rangpur Riders suffered their second consecutive defeat to Durbar Rajshahi, falling agonisingly short by two runs in their chase of 120 in back-to-back encounters in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Sunday.
With 25 runs required off the final over, Saifuddin came agonisingly close, scoring 22 off it, but the Riders ultimately fell just short, finishing at 117/8 in their 20 overs.
Their innings struggled to gain momentum, with Soumya Sarkar’s much-anticipated return to competitive cricket proving underwhelming as he managed just 8 runs off 13 balls.
Mrittunjoy Chowdhury was the star with the ball for Rajshahi, picking up 4 wickets for just 18 runs, dismantling the Riders’ middle order.

Taskin Ahmed and Mohor Sheikh chipped in with two wickets each to keep Rangpur under pressure. With his brace on the day, Taskin’s wicket tally in this BPL reached 24, surpassing Shakib Al Hasan’s previous record tally of 23 in 2019.At 91/8, Rangpur seemed out of the contest, but Mohammad Saifuddin launched a stunning counterattack, smashing 52* off 31 balls, including 6 fours and 3 sixes.

Despite two defeats in a row, Rangpur sit at the top of the points table with 16 points from 10 matches while Rajshahi kept their playoffs hopes alive sitting fourth with 10 points from 11 matches.
Earlier, the match began with Rajshahi fielding 11 local players due to a boycott by their foreign recruits over non-payment issues. They were allowed to participate under special consideration granted by the BPL Technical Committee.
Rangpur Riders’ bowlers delivered a clinical performance to restrict Durbar Rajshahi to a modest total of 119/9 in their 20 overs.
The Riders’ bowlers—Saifuddin, Rakibul Hasan, Khushdil Shah, and Akif Javed—ensured Rajshahi’s total was well below par.

Mohammad Saifuddin set the tone early, dismissing Jishan Alam for just 2 runs in the second over. Rakibul Hasan followed suit, removing Sabbir Hossain (11) stumped by Nurul Hasan, and then ran out Anamul Haque (13), leaving Rajshahi at 43/3.
Khushdil Shah was the standout performer for Rangpur, taking 3 wickets for 19 runs. He dismissed Mrittunjoy Chowdhury (10) and SM Meherob (7), both caught in the outfield, and later trapped Mizanur Rahman (5) lbw to leave Rajshahi reeling at 67/7.
Akif Javed also made his mark, claiming the wicket of Yasir Ali (3) caught behind by Nurul Hasan, while Rakibul Hasan struck again to dismiss Akbar Ali (19), reducing Rajshahi further to 84/8.
Despite a fighting 28* from Sunzamul Islam and a quick cameo of 13 from Taskin Ahmed, Rajshahi’s innings never gained momentum, and they could manage 119.