Sylhet Super Stars survived from being the holder of lowest score in BPL but couldn’t save themselves from a humiliating eight-wicket defeat to Rangpur Riders at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in the capital yesterday.
A day after wrapping up Barisal for tournament lowest 58 runs, Sylhet were shot out for 59 which Riders overhauled in just 9.5 overs to confirm their spot in the play-off.
Super Stars defeat also propelled Barisal Bulls to their play-off berth which meant three teams- Sylhet, Chittagong and Dhaka would vie to break the play-off as the fourth team.
Sylhet’s unbelievable turnaround in the last match against Barisal Bulls raised a prospect of making the tournament wide open but in less than 24 hours they returned to the former self that they were at the outset of the tournament.
The Sylhet batsmen led their downfall by playing forceful shots in a wicket where shot-making was never easy. The ultimate damage of the Super Stars were done by three Riders spinners- Arafat Sunny, Shakib Al Hasan and Mohammad Nabi who shared nine wickets between them to hasten a batting collapse. Sohail Tanvir was the highest scorer with 20.
Unlike the opponents, Riders batsmen showed immense patience even though they were under pressure to win with a boosted net run rate. Sylhet pacer Mohammad Shahid took two wickets to leave them 22 for two. Rangpur skipper Shakib Al Hasan thereafter sailed the team home, scoring an unbeaten 29 with four fours, last two of which came in consecutive deliveries.  Scorecard on Page 19