Durbar Rajshahi on Sunday claimed a two-run win over Rangpur Riders in a low-scoring thriller in which Rajshahi pacer Taskin Ahmed surpassed Shakib Al Hasan's record of claiming the most number of wickets in a single season of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).

Chasing a mediocre 120-run target, Rangpur could only manage 117 for eight despite Mohammad Saifuddin plundering 22 runs in the final over at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur.  

Rajshahi's Taskin had Rangpur Riders opener Steven Taylor caught behind in the very first over of the chase, which was his 23rd scalp in 11 matches in this edition of BPL -- equalling Shakib's record of 23 wickets in 15 matches for Dhaka Dynamites in the 2018/19 season of BPL.

Taskin later surpassed the premier all-rounder by trapping Rakibul Hasan lbw in the penultimate over, ending a crucial 42-run eighth-wicket stand between Rakibul and Saifuddin. Taskin ended with figures of two for 25 in four overs. 

Having fielded an all-local XI -- a never before seen occurrence in the history of the tournament -- after getting special approval from the BPL technical committee, Rajshahi were restricted to just 119 for nine.

Rajshahi were in danger of getting bundled out under 100 as a batting collapse saw them tottering at eight for 84 in 14.4 overs.   

However, an unbeaten 29-ball 28 from tailender Sunzamul Islam helped Rajshahi, who missed out on getting the services of their foreign recruits presumably due to a non-payment issue, get their total to three figures.

Rangpur also suffered a batting collapse, getting reduced to 30 for six in 8.3 overs with Rajshahi pacer Mrittunjoy Chowdhury finishing with figures of four for 18 in his four overs, which included a maiden.

Needing 25 off the final over, Saifuddin smashed Jishan Alam for two sixes in the first two deliveries to lend some hope to Rangpur of a late turnaround. However, Saifuddin chose not to take singles in the following two deliveries, in an attempt to keep the strike, before hitting a four and a maximum off the final two deliveries, which meant that Rangpur fell two runs short of the target.  

Saifuddin remained unbeaten on 52 off 31 balls, his highest score in the BPL.

With the win, Rajshahi have jumped to fourth position in the points-table with 10 points in 11 matches. Rangpur remained at the top of the table with 16 points in 10 games.