Sports reporter
Rajshahi Warriors started the 12th season of BPL with a storming century by captain Nazmul Hossain Shantar. They beat Sylhet Titans by 8 wickets in the quest for a century.
Batting first, the host Sylhet Titans scored 190 runs after losing 5 wickets in the scheduled 20 overs. Parvez Hussain Imon’s great innings, they got a big collection. The left-handed batsman scored an unbeaten 65 off 33 balls. His devastating innings had four fours and five sixes. Parvez’s stormy batting at the end gave momentum to the innings.Earlier Rony Talukder scored 41 runs off 34 balls with 4 fours in responsible batting. Saim Ayyub 28 and Afif Hossain played a cameo innings of 33 runs.
Sandeep Lamichane was the most successful bowler for Rajshahi. He took two wickets for 38 runs. Besides, Binura Fernando and Tanjim Hasan Shakib took one wicket each.
Rajshahi batted confidently in response. Tanjid Hasan (10) and opener Sahebzada Farhan (20) returned within 62 runs, but captain Nazmul Hossain Shanto took the lead. They found the way to win by relying on his extraordinary century. Reached the target in 19.4 overs with the loss of 2 wickets.Shant scored an unbeaten 101 off 60 balls. His explosive innings included 10 fours and five sixes. Wicketkeeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim gave great support to Shanta. He ensured the victory of the team with an unbeaten 51 runs from 31 balls in a stormy batting. Rajshahi got an easy win in the unbroken pair of 130 runs.
Sylhet bowlers failed to control runs. Mohammad Amir 30 and Nasum Ahmed 33 runs but Mehdi Hasan Miraj got one wicket with 39 runs. Khaled Ahmed also took a wicket for 30 runs.
