By Zainab Shafiq 
Nurul Hasan’s breathtaking finish to his innings in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) on Thursday saw him scoring 30 in the last over to hand his team, Rangpur Riders, an exciting victory by the last ball against Fortune Barishal in Sylhet. That was the third-highest last-over total scored in men’s T20 cricket: Somerset had scored 34 in the final over of a match in the 2015 T20 Blast and Kolkata Knight Riders 31 in IPL 2023.
Chasing a daunting target of 198, Rangpur found themselves in a precarious position at the end of the 19th over, needing 26 runs with only two wickets in hand. Nurul was on 2 from one ball after walking out in the 18th over of Rangpur’s chase of Barishal’s 197 for 5. Then, he faced Kyle Mayers’ medium pace in the final over. It was followed by a demonstration of sheer brilliance: Nurul hit three sixes and three fours off six balls, leaving a tremendous six straight down the ground to win it from the jaws of defeat.
The thrilling win took Rangpur Riders’ unbeaten winning streak in the series to six matches, with them firmly placed at the top of the table with six points clear of their nearest rivals. Nurul’s knock reminded many of some of the greatest finishes ever in T20 cricket.
Watch: Nurul Hasan’s breathtaking finish against Fortune Barishal
Nurul Hasan scores third-highest final-over score in T20s
The record for the highest final-over score in T20s, with Somerset, was created on July 10, 2015. They needed 57 to defeat Kent in the last over. Pakistani left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman swung his bat and smashed fast-medium bowler Matt Coles for three sixes and two fours. The list next includes Rinku Singh’s exciting five sixes in KKR’s last-over victory in IPL 2023.
Rangpur Riders’ fantastic performance is one of the best moments of this BPL season, and in it, a brilliant performance from the calm-under-pressure Nurul Hasan.