Hasan Mahmud Heroics Powers Noakhali Express To a Nervy Win Over Rangpur Riders

Noakhali Express defeated Rangpur Riders in a thrilling fashion at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium. Led by the bowling masterclass of Hasan Mahmud, Noakhali Express overcame a spirited fightback from Rangpur Riders to register their first victory of the BPL 2026 season. It was a nervy win, as they defended a low total of 148 in the second innings of the match.

Rangpur Riders would definitely be disappointed with this result, as they were looking to win the match to secure first position on the points table. Their batting effort led them down in today’s game, as no batter took the responsibility to take the chase deep into the innings.

Noakhali Express came into the match with a slightly different batting order. They started the innings by taking on the Riders’ bowling lineup confidently. Shahadat Hossain played some impressive shots; however, he was dismissed by Mustafizur Rahman in the Powerplay. He went back to the pavilion after scoring a quick 14 runs.

After his dismissal, Soumya Sarkar and Habibur Rahman Sohan played sensibly to take the innings forward. Both batters negated the pressure put on by Riders bowling attack, as they wanted to build a partnership. The innings of Habibur Rahman Sohan was especially phenomenal, as he struck big sixes at a high strike rate of 187. He was looking good to go big, but Sufiyan Muqeem dismissed him after scoring quick 30 runs.

Jaker Ali, who came out to bat at number three, then played a steady innings. He held the one end firmly, as Noakhali lost two back-to-back wickets in the middle overs. His partnership with Mahidul Islam Ankon was crucial, as both batters absorbed the pressure to take the innings forward.

After building a steady foundation, Jaker Ali went back to the pavilion due to some tight bowling by Mustafizur Rahman. Nevertheless, his gritty innings of 38 runs was impressive, as it helped avert a collapse during the middle overs.

Unfortunately, the lower order of Noakhali Express didn’t offer much resistance. Due to losing quick wickets in the death overs, they managed to score just 148 at the end of the first innings.

From the bowling perspective, Mustafizur Rahman remained the star bowler for Rangpur Riders, as he picked 3 wickets in four overs while conceding just 18 runs.

Quality Bowling Display by Noakhali Express

Coming out to chase the target, Rangpur Riders faltered early in the innings. They lost their in-form openers, Dawid Malan and Litton Das, very early in the Powerplay. The incoming batter, Towhid Hridoy, then played positively to take the chase forward. He built a steady partnership with Iftekhar Ahmed that gave Riders some momentum in the chase.

The duo were looking good to build a big partnership, but Zahir Khan came up with a fine spell to remove Towhid Hridoy. After his dismissal, Iftekhar Ahmed and Khushdil Shah took the chase deep by playing cautiously.

The partnership between both middle-order batters once again gave Riders some hope, but Zahir Khan quickly dismissed Iftekhar Ahmed to give Noakhali an edge in the match. This brought a lot of pressure on Khushdil Shah, as the lower order of Riders completely failed in today’s match. They didn’t provide any support to Khushdil Shah, which eventually built pressure on him and became the cause of his dismissal towards the end.

The heroics of Hasan Mahmud then sealed the victory for the Noakhali Express team in the final over. He took three wickets in the last over to completely stun the lower order of Rangur Riders. Due to his bowling masterclass, Noakhali Express successfully defended the target and won the match by 9 runs.