Rangpur Division confirmed the final of the NCL T20 as the first team after edging Dhaka Metro past by four wickets in a tight first Qualifier contest at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
For Metro which won all seven matches in the group phase, it was the first defeat unfortunately that came in the crucial game.
Nonetheless, they will get another shot at the final when they will take on Khulna in the second Qualifier game tomorrow.
Khulna, meanwhile, kept the final hope alive, recording a thrilling seven-run win over Chattogram in the Eliminator game in another tight contest at the same venue earlier.
Opting to bat first, Metro were restricted to a meager 107-9, a score that Rangpur overhauled with four balls to spare by making 108-6, albeit a hiccup.
Tanbir Hayder's 22 not out was crucial in delivering the victory but Ariful Haque who also made 22 played the key role. Ariful hit one four and two sixes in a crunch moment to tilt the momentum toward Rangpur after a slow start.
Opener Chowdhury M Rizwan and Abdullah Al Mamun scored 17 each, playing 41 balls between them. Their slow start put Rangpur in trouble and the situation further worsened when Naeem Islam and Akbar Ali also wasted considerable amount of deliveries to score just 16 and 7 runs respectively.
Ariful then paced the innings before being dismissed by Shohidul Islam but Hayder held the nerve to steer the side to the victory.
For, Metro, which opted to bat first, opener Imranuzzaman top-scored with 30 but he played 42 balls, that put the pressure on the others. No other batters could respond well to amend Imran's slow knock and Metro eventually destined to a low total.
Aminul Islam Biplob was not out on 23 off 24 while Abu Haider Rony made 16 off eight balls but the top-order and middle order had already made the damage.
Robiul Haque claimed 3-19 for Rangpur while Alauddin Babu grabbed 2-25. —BSS
