Bangladesh Premier League 2023 Points Table: Updated standings after Fortune Barishal vs Rangpur Riders Match 18

Fortune Barishal, led by Shakib Al Hasan, have gone from strength to strength in the ongoing edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2023.

After initially losing to the Sylhet Strikers, the team has won four matches in a row. With their latest victory, they inched closer to displacing Mashrafe Mortaza’s Strikers from the top of the table and improved their net run rate to +1.048.

On Thursday, January 19, Fortune Barishal defeated the Rangpur Riders by 67 runs at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram. The Riders, on the other hand, lost their third match and their net run rate has now dropped to -0.523.

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Iftikhar, Shakib take Fortune Barishal to big win in Bangladesh Premier League 2023

After being put in to bat first, Fortune Barishal went hammer and tongs right from the start to rack up a massive score of 238 for the loss of four wickets in 20 overs.

It wasn't all smooth sailing, however, as Anamul Haque Bijoy and Mehidy Hasan Miraz got out after getting starts. Ibrahim Zadran and Mahmudullah also soon went back to the hut without opening their accounts.

With their score at 46/4 in 5.4 overs, Barishal seemed to be in trouble. However, Shakib Al Hasan and Iftikhar Ahmed stitched together the highest partnership for the fifth wicket in the history of T20 cricket.

Shakib and Iftikhar put on 192 for the fifth wicket off only 14.2 overs. Shakib raced to his career-best score in the Bangladesh Premier League, scoring an unbeaten 89 off 43 balls with nine fours and six sixes.

Iftikhar, meanwhile, became the third Pakistani after Usman Khan and Azam Khan to score a hundred in the ongoing edition of the Bangladesh Premier League. His knock was laced with six fours and nine sixes.

The run-chase was always going to be a tall order for the Riders, who finished with 171 for nine. Shamim Hossain scored 44 off 24, but his efforts couldn't take his team past the finish line.