Despite a valiant effort from opener Tamim Iqbal, Minister Group Dhaka suffered an agonising three-run defeat against Chattogram Challengers as the ongoing Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League produced one of the most exciting fixtures of this edition in Sylhet today.

Tamim's unbeaten 56-ball 73, alongside useful contributions from Dhaka skipper Mahmudullah Riyad and all-rounder Shuvagata Hom, took the game right down till the final delivery. However, Dhaka still fell short as they could score 145 for six while chasing a 149-run target set by Chattogram. 

The victory helped Chattogram bounce back to winning ways after three successive defeats in the tournament. 

Chasing a somewhat competitive total, Dhaka were in a precarious situation as they lost three for just 21 in 4.2 overs. The experienced duo of Tamim and Mahmudullah then consolidated brilliantly, stitching a 71-run fourth-wicket stand off just 59 deliveries to keep Dhaka's hopes alive. 

After starting slowly, both Tamim and Mahmudullah had begun to dominate proceedings and at one point it looked like Dhaka would get over the line almost with ease. However, things changed when Shamim Hossain, who had earlier scored a valuable fifty to help Chattogram get to a competitive total, produced a brilliant fielding effort to remove Mahmudullah in the 15th over. 

Mahmudullah's slog-sweep off Mehedi Hasan Miraz was headed towards the boundary but Shamim covered decent ground in the deep and took a brilliant catch on the run. He showed impeccable presence of mind, throwing the ball to Benny Howell before he ran over the fence. Howell did not fail to grab the ball as the duo completed a brilliant assisted catch on the boundary.  

After Mahmudullah's departure following a 29-ball 24, Tamim carried on and stitched another quick-fire 43-run stand with Shuvagata. Shuvagata played an 11-ball 22-run cameo, laced with two boundaries and a maximum, but departed in the penultimate over to Shoriful Islam after hitting the bowler for a six in the very first ball to take the equation down to 14 off just 11 deliveries. 

And had it been Tamim on strike from the first ball of the final over, the result could have been a bit different as the southpaw looked to be in phenomenal rhythm having already hit six fours and three maximums during a boundary-laden innings. 

However, with Tamim left stranded at the non-striker's end for the first four deliveries, pacer Mrittunjoy Chowdhury ended up bowling a brilliant final over to help Chattogram register a thrilling win. And the one delivery that Tamim faced in the final over, he had to deal with a brilliant yorker by Mrittunjoy that only led to a single run.

Earlier, after being asked to bat, Chattogram got off to an abrupt start as they lost opener Zakir Hasan early. 

Will Jacks and Chattogram's new captain Afif Hossain, who was only made captain just ahead of the game as the franchise dropped the previous skipper Naeem Islam citing his poor form, then put on a steady 40-run stand. 

It was however Shamim's 37-ball 52 alongside Benny Howell's unbeaten 24 that helped Chattogram end up with a decent total after they had lost three quick wickets in the middle.