Last-ball nightmare: Liton recalls Nidahas Trophy heartbreak

Dhaka, 20 Jan - Rangpur Riders' dramatic defeat to Sylhet Titans, sealed by a sensational last-ball six from Chris Woakes, brought back painful memories of Bangladesh's heartbreak in the Nidahas Trophy for Rangpur skipper Liton Das.

Bangladesh had suffered a similar fate in the 2018 Nidahas Trophy final in Sri Lanka, failing to defend five runs off the final ball when Dinesh Karthik smashed a six off Soumya Sarkar to snatch four-wicket victory for India.

On Tuesday, Rangpur Riders found themselves on the wrong side of history again. Despite having six runs to defend off the final ball, they could not stop Woakes' heroics, which sent Sylhet into Qualifier-2 of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).

Defending a modest 111- nine, Rangpur put up a spirited fight and left Sylhet needing nine runs from the final over. Fahim Ashraf nearly pulled off an extraordinary turnaround, conceding just two runs and dismissing Moeen Ali in his first four deliveries.

A single off Syed Khaled Ahmed on the fifth ball, however, brought Woakes to the crease. The England allrounder then struck a towering six over extra cover off the final delivery to knock Rangpur out of the tournament.

"I remembered the Nidahas Trophy after seeing the six on the last ball. Six over the same cover," Liton said after the match. "Okay... that's cricket, that's how life goes.

"There will be ups and downs. It would have been better if we could have won, but we couldn't do it."
 
Despite being among the favourites in this year's BPL, Rangpur once again failed to make it to the final. It marked the second consecutive season in which they were eliminated in the knockout phase.

Reflecting on the disappointment, Liton admitted that paper strength does not always translate into results on the field.

"Two days ago, someone told us that we are good on paper. Cricket is more than paper and pen," he said. "What matters most is how much you can give on the 22 yards of cricket.

"On paper, our batting and bowling are good, but our fielding was bad. In most matches, we suffered a lot because of our fielding," he assessed. 

"Today you saw that we gave away many extra runs, and they took runs from our hands. When you score low, your fielding unit has to be very good."BSS