Jahurul leads Rajshahi to tight win

Duronto Rajshahi 152 for 5 (Jahurul 49*, Mukhtar 26*) beat Sylhet Royals 147 for 8 (Mushfiqur 34, Munaweera 2-19) by five wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Jahurul Islam's unbeaten 49 guided Duronto Rajshahi to their fifth win in the competition, beating Sylhet Royals, who remain top of the table despite the defeat.

Tamim Iqbal's absence, after he hurt his left hand while fielding, made the chase of 148 appear more impressive. After Charles Coventry and Dilshan Munaweera gave Rajshahi a positive start, they lost four wickets quickly, and Jahurul faced a familiar task of steadying the innings.

After Jahurul and Ziaur Rahman were separated in the 15th over, Jahurul added 46 off 29 balls with Mukhtar Ali to reach the target in the final over. Mukhtar was given more of the strike and the aggressive allrounder made the most of his opportunities as he struck two sixes and a four in his 17-ball 29.

This was Jahurul's third match-winning knock in a row: he scored 57 and 38 not out against Barisal Burners and Rangpur Riders before this match.

The Rajshahi bowlers had also contributed to the win, with left-arm spinner Monir Hossain and Munaweera taking two wickets each. After a strong second-wicket partnership between Paul Stirling and Mushfiqur Rahim, who added added 51 runs, the Royals lost their way as they went for too many attacking strokes.

Ben Edmondson, Naeem Islam jnr and Mukhtar took a wicket each, and helped Rajshahi restrict their opponents to 147. The seamers had made scoring difficult by changing the pace of their deliveries on a slow wicket.

Mushfiqur and Stirling, who scored 34 and 24 respectively, were the highest scorers for the Royals as none of their big-hitters down the order contributed much.