Rajshahi Crowned BPL Champions After Beating Chattogram
Rajshahi Warriors won the title of the 12th edition of the BPL. In the final, they thrashed Chattogram Royals by 63 runs to lift the trophy for the second time.
Chasing a target of 175 runs, Chattogram were bowled out for just 111 runs in 17.5 overs. They collapsed under a fiery bowling spell from Binura Fernando. He picked up the wickets of Mohammad Naim and Mahmudul Hasan Joy within the first three overs. Overall, he claimed 4 wickets for just 9 runs in 3 overs. James Neesham took two wickets.
Chattogram’s batting completely failed. Losing wickets at regular intervals, they never found momentum. Opener Mirza Beg was the top scorer with 39 runs off 36 balls. Asif Ali scored 21 runs.
Earlier, opener Tanzid Hasan created history with the bat. He became the first Bangladeshi batter to score three consecutive centuries in a single BPL season. Riding on his brilliant hundred, Rajshahi Warriors posted a challenging total of 174 runs for 4 wickets in 20 overs. Tanzid was named Player of the Match.
After losing the toss and being sent in to bat, Rajshahi started aggressively from the outset. Tanzid controlled the innings throughout, anchoring the batting effort. He smashed a blazing century off 62 balls, laying the foundation for a big total. He was supported by Sahibzada Farhan in an 83-run partnership. Farhan scored 30 runs off 30 balls. Kane Williamson also played a crucial role in maintaining the run rate in the middle overs, scoring 24 runs off just 15 balls to accelerate the innings.
Rajshahi lost some momentum toward the end of the innings. When Tanzid was dismissed in one of the final overs, their push for an even bigger total was checked. He was out exactly on 100. His 62-ball innings included six fours and seven sixes.
For Chattogram, Shariful Islam and Mukidul Islam picked up two wickets each, preventing Rajshahi from crossing a bigger score.
