Rahman, Razzak seal Rangpur win

Rangpur Riders 174 for 4 (Shamsur 66, Sunny 2-21) beat Barisal Burners 167 for 8 (Hodge 58, Sabbir 69, Razzak 4-33) by 7 runs
Scorecard

Rangpur Riders survived sprightly knocks from Brad Hodge and Sabbir Rahman to secure a seven-run win against Barisal Burners - their second in three matches. Though the target of 175 initially looked out of their grasp, Hodge and Sabbir kept the Burners in the hunt till the last over.

Opening batsman Shamsur Rahman contributed significantly to Riders' win. He scored 66 off 40 deliveries, featuring in a 70-run stand for the first wicket with Imrul Kayes to set up the foundation for a strong total, and later took a diving catch at long-on to get rid of Sabbir, off the fourth ball of the last over of the game, when Burners needed 14 to win.

Riders' captain Abdur Razzak also proved vital to his team's cause, taking four wickets, including that of Sabbir, to deny his opponents the win.

Sabbir smacked five sixes, mostly peppering the long-on boundary, and four fours in his 35-ball 69 - his first half-century in Twenty20 cricket - to keep up with the climbing run-rate in Burners' chase. Hodge scored 58 off 38 balls, hitting three sixes and four boundaries, and added 59 for the fifth wicket with Sabbir after the Burners had slipped to 48 for 4 in the ninth over. Hodge's dismissal in the 15th over was the start of Riders' fightback.