Records were made at the 2023 BPL (Bangladesh Premier League) match between the Fortune Barishal and Rangpur Riders on Thursday. Shakib Al Hasan and Iftikhar Ahmed scored the joint-second highest total in BPL history and spearheaded the Fortune Barishal’s 67-run win against Rangpur Riders.
Skipper Shakib joined hands with Iftikhar in the sixth over of the first innings. Ahmed blazed to a century while Al Hasan scored his highest T20 score of 89 runs. With their combined score, the duo has beaten Adam Hose and Dan Mousley’s previously held record of a 171-run partnership, which they had set in 2020 during a Vitality Blast fixture.
The highest total in BPL history, on the other hand, remains the 239 for four posted by Rangpur Rangers against Chittagong Vikings at the same venue in 2019.
In addition to scoring the second-highest joint score of 192, Shakib and Iftikhar made the record-breaking score for the fifth wicket. It is the highest ever scored for the fifth wicket in the history of T20 cricket. Before this, the record was held by Chittagong Challengers’ Chadwick Walton and Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who scored 115 runs.
Another record broken by the duo was scoring the highest runs in the death overs in BPL history.
This was the third-highest runs in the last five overs in T20 cricket history. The highest number of runs was 112, scored by Royal Challengers Bangalore against Gujrat Lions in an IPL game.
Aside from records from their joint efforts, Al Hasan and Ahmed also made personal records. Iftikhar reached his maiden T20 hundred in the third ball of the final over, while taking the only single of that over by Mahedi Hasan. From this hit, Ahmed became the third player to score a hundred in the ongoing edition after his compatriots Azam Khan and Usman Khan.
While the duo made several records for the team, they are not the only star players of the match. The Barishals also had some strong bowlers. Mehidy Hasan Miraz claimed 3-26, while Mohammad Wasim and Kamrul Islam took two wickets each to deny Rangpur’s chances of overcoming the target.
At the end of their innings, the Fortune Barishal made a total of 238/4. The Riders, meanwhile, ended with a total of 171/9. It is the third loss for the Riders.
This victory marks the fourth victory for the Fortune Barishal. Currently, they are 2nd in the standings with 8 points and a net run rate of +1.048, while the Sylhet Strikers remain first in the tournament standings. As for the Rangpur Riders, they are in 4th place with four points and a net run rate of -0.523.
Following this match, the Barishal team will be going against the Dhaka Dominators (Minister Group Dhaka) for the 20th match of the tournament. This will be the first time that the two teams will play against each other in the tournament.
On January 23, the Rangpur Riders will play against the Chattogram Challengers. It will also be the first time that these two teams will play against each other in the 2023 BPL.