Bangladesh’s Rangpur Riders began the defense of their Global Super League title with a tense eight-run win over the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the second match of day one at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Thursday night.

Rangpur, after winning the toss and electing to bat, posted 162-5 from their 20 overs on a typically spin-friendly Providence wicket.

West Indian Kyle Mayers was the main scorer for the Riders with 44* off 31 balls including three fours and two sixes while Soumya Sarkar and Iftikhar Ahmed also played well for their 35 off 36 balls and 34* off 21 balls, respectively.

Captain Imran Tahir was the pick of the bowlers for the hosts with 2-21 from his four overs of leg spin while Gudakesh Motie picked up 2-32 from his four overs.

The Amazon Warriors were then dismissed for 154 off 19.1 overs in reply.

Johnson Charles led the way with 40 off 28 balls at the top of the order while Moeen Ali, batting at number three, made 27 off 18 balls.

Sherfane Rutherford also got a start with 19 while Jewel Andrew (14), Dwayne Pretorius (14) and Shimron Hetmyer (13) also got off the mark well but were unable to carry on.

Pacer Khaled Ahmed was named man of the match after an excellent spell of 4-36 from his four overs including the wickets of Rutherford and Hetmyer.

Azmatullah Omarzai and Tabraiz Shamsi also picked up a pair of wickets, each.

Summarized scores:

Rangpur Riders 162-5 in 20 overs (Kyle Mayers 44*, Soumya Sarkar 35, Iftikhar Ahmed 34*, Imran Tahir 2-21, Gudakesh Motie 2-32)

Guyana Amazon Warriors 154 all out in 19.1 overs (Johnson Charles 40, Moeen Ali 27, Khaled Ahmed 4-36, Azmatullah Omarzai 2-13, Tabraiz Shamsi 2-24).