Rangpur claim 2nd NCL crown

Rangpur Division walked to a five-wicket win over Sylhet Division in the final match of the 24th National Cricket League 2022-23 on Wednesday to claim their second title of the tournament.

Following their win, Rangpur currently have an unassailable 26 points, while Sylhet and Dhaka have 14.

This is Rangpur’s first title since the 2014-15 season, which came after ending as runners-up thrice in the last four seasons, including last season where they stayed unbeaten throughout the campaign.

The match between Rangpur and Sylhet at the Shahid Chandu Stadium in Bogra was winner-take-all as the victors would go on to lift the trophy.

And in the crunch match, Rangpur, led by Under-19 World Cup-winning skipper Akbar Ali, did not allow Sylhet to stand a chance.

A combined bowling effort from Rangpur had seen them bowl out Sylhet for 107 in the first innings before them not doing so well either as the Northern side could only manage 188 in their first innings, courtesy of 41 from Nasir Hossain and 38 from Mim Mosaddek.

Sylhet’s only hope was to score big in the second innings but they failed to do so as four wickets from Rangpur all-rounder Abdullah Al Mamun saw them bundle out for only 168.

That led to Rangpur having only a target of 88 to chase, and only a miracle could have handed them the title.

And while their bowlers tried and managed five scalps, it was too little to defend as Rangpur eased their way into a five-wicket victory.

After their title win, Rangpur skipper Akbar expressed his delight to The Business Post.

“I’m feeling great. Rangpur last won the title in 2014-15. We were very close last time, we stayed unbeaten but ended up as runners-up. Finally, we did it this time. It feels great. And it always feels better when your team wins something and you lead them,” he told The Business Post.

Akbar also informed that they were resolute about not making the same mistakes again and winning the title.

“We were very determined about winning the title after being so close last time. We talked among ourselves that we came very close but failed, so we will rectify our mistakes early on,” the NCL-winning skipper said.

Sylhet’s position in tier 1 will now depend on the result between Dhaka and Chattogram, where the former requires 87 runs on the final day with five wickets in hand.

At BKSP, skipper Irfan Shukkur’s 66 could only propel Chattogram to 203 in their first innings. In reply, Dhaka were in disarray at 129-6 despite Abdul Mazid’s 67 but were somewhat bailed out by an unbeaten 50 by Sumon Khan, taking them to 198.

In their second innings, fifties from Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Parvez Hossain Emon, and Mominul Haque took Chattogram to 249, meaning Dhaka would need to chase down 255 to win the tie.

An unbeaten fifty from skipper Taibur Rahman (71*) has kept Dhaka in the running on 168-5, while Chattogram will hope to find the remaining five wickets early on the final day.

In tier 2, Dhaka Metro are almost guaranteed promotion as they need 36 runs to win against Barishal on the final day with seven wickets in hand.

In the other match of tier 2, Khulna beat Rajshahi comprehensively by nine wickets.