Minister Group Rajshahi 169 for 9 (Mahedi 50, Nurul 39, Muktar 3-22) beat Beximco Dhaka 167 for 5 (Mushfiqur 41, Akbar 34, Mahedi 1-22) by two runs

Mahedi Hasan bowled a brilliant final over to help Minister Group Rajshahi clinch a two-run win over Beximco Dhaka in the opening game of the Bangabandhu T20 Cup.

Mahedi bowled five dot balls - most of them yorkers - to a rampant Muktar Ali, who could only get a four through square leg off the fourth delivery. Off the next ball, the square-leg umpire sent a stumping appeal to his TV colleague, but it emerged that Mahedi had overstepped. Mahedi, however, made up for it by firing two more yorkers to give away just one more run, finishing with figures of 1 for 22 from his four overs. Earlier in the game, he had also produced 50 runs off 32 balls when Rajshahi had landed in trouble midway through their innings.

Dhaka needing 30 runs off the last two overs, Mukhtar gave his side a lifeline by smashing three sixes off Farhad Reza. The first two of those went over midwicket while the last one was over long-on, as Dhaka managed 21 runs off the penultimate over. Eventually, it was an apt finish to a topsy-turvy game that could have gone either way.

At the start of the chase, Dhaka had moved quickly, but lost three wickets within the first seven overs. Young Tanzid Hasan was run-out in the second over after hitting 18 off 11 balls. Mahedi then had Yasir Ali lbw in the fifth over, before Mohammad Naim, who also got off to a quick start, was caught one-handed at deep midwicket while trying to clear a long-hop from Arafat Sunny.

Dhaka recovered through a 71-run fourth-wicket stand between Mushfiqur Rahim and Akbar Ali, the Under-19 World Cup-winning captain who chipped in with 34, including a six over long-on and four fours. But his dismissal with Dhaka still requiring 44 off the remaining 26 balls brought Rajshahi back in the game.

Rajshahi had earlier built their total with two scoring bumps. They had started well with captain Najmul Hossain Shanto, before newcomer Anisul Islam Emon placed them in a strong position in the powerplay. Shanto was the first wicket to fall in the fourth over, but Emon struck five fours and a six in an attacking 23-ball 35. But from 65 for 2 in the ninth over, they lost three wickets - Mohammad Ashraful, Emon and Fazle Mahmud - on the same score, reducing them to a position from where survival took more importance.

But Nurul Hasan and Mahedi turned things around quickly after a short lull. The sixth-wicket pair added 89 runs before Nurul, having struck three sixes and two fours in his quick 39, holed out trying to ramp off Muktar. Shortly afterwards, Mahedi too skied to deep square-leg but only after an aggressive 52 off 32 balls with three fours and four sixes.

Dhaka's pace bowlers had a better outing than their spinners, who went for combined figures of 2 for 84 from their eight overs. Muktar took 3 for 22, while Rubel Hossain and left-arm quick Mehedi Hasan were both economical.