Despite some late blows by the Khulna Tigers batters, Fortune Barishal picked up their third win in the ongoing Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) on Monday in Chattogram.
Khulna needed to score 146 to win the match, but they ended up on 139 and lost the match by six runs. With this win, Barishal secured a total of six points from three wins in five matches they’ve played so far, reports UNB.
Barishal won the toss in this match and opted to bat first— unlike the other matches when captains opted to bowl first after winning the tosses.
Despite losing three wickets in just 24 runs, Barishal posted 145 for all wickets in 18.5 overs. In the fourth wicket stand, Shakib Al Hasan and Najmul Hossain Shanto posted 79 runs on the board. Riding on this stand, Barishal managed to set a challenging total.
Shakib scored 41 while Shanto added 45 in the fourth wicket stand for Barishal.
Khaled Ahmed bagged three for Khulna Tigers while Kamrul Islam and Farhad Reza took two wickets each.
In reply, Yasir Ali and Mushfiuqr Rahim scored 57 not out and 33 respectively but their effort went in vain as the top-order failed to provide a good start.
Khulna needed 36 runs in the last two overs which came down to 15 in the last over, but Khulna batters failed to achieve that.
For Barishal, Dwayne Bravo took three wickets conceding 40 runs in four overs while Shakib took two wickets conceding only 10 runs in four overs. Shakib won the player of the match award for his allround show. Afghanistan’s Mujeeb Ur Rahman did not get any wicket, but he was excellent with the ball as he conceded only 13 runs in four overs.
Khulna now have four points from two wins in five matches they’ve played till the date.
In their next match, Khulna will take on Sylhet Sunrisers on February 3 while Barishal will lock the horns with Chattogram Challengers on February 1.
