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‘Unfortunate’ Barishal lose to Dhaka

Staff Correspondent
25 Jan 2022 00:00:00 | Update: 25 Jan 2022 04:20:02
‘Unfortunate’ Barishal lose to Dhaka
Minister Dhaka all-rounder Andre Russell (C) strikes a ball during their Bangladesh Premier League match against Fortune Barishal in Dhaka on Monday – BCB Photo

Fortune Barishal got Chris Gayle a day before their expectations but the arrival of the ‘Universe Boss’ could not hand them another victory in the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League as they lost to Minister Dhaka by four wickets at the SBNCS on Monday.

Gayle landed in Dhaka on Sunday, proved negative in two RT-PCR tests, and took the field for Barishal on Monday noon.

He played an innings of 36 runs from 30 balls, hitting three boundaries and two sixes before getting dismissed by mistiming a delivery from Isuru Udana, where Mahmudullah took the catch at third-man.

He had little support throughout the innings as only his compatriot Dwayne Bravo managed to score an unbeaten 33. Skipper Shakib Al Hasan (23) got set and got out once again, and no other meaningful contribution meant that Barishal could only muster 129-8 in 20 overs.

In reply, Dhaka had a horrible start. Tamim Iqbal, after scoring back-to-back half-centuries in the first two matches, was bowled for a duck by Shafiqul Islam. And then, Mohammad Naim and Jahurul Islam were dazzled by the pace of Alzarri Joseph, and then Shafiqul struck again by rattling the stumps of Mohammad Shahzad.

Dhaka lost four wickets for only 10 runs, but Mahmudullah (47) along with Shuvagato Hom (29), managed to bring them back into the match with a calm stand of 69 runs. And then, Andre Russel (31*) provided the flurry at the finish to take them home with four wickets

in hand.

This win gave Dhaka their first points of the tournament after losing their first two matches against Khulna Tigers and Chattogram Challengers. Fortune Barishal also have only two points from two matches.

After the match, Barishal coach Khaled Mahmud told the media that they failed to apply their plans on the pitch.

“We failed to execute our plans. We gifted our wickets. The top-order needed to bat with more responsibility. We are better than this. We are yet to display our best batting. We have bat well against Comilla tomorrow (today),” Mahmud said on Monday.

Mahmud insisted that he wanted a big score from his top three. He said, “We know our mistakes. Nobody from the top could score big. I want someone in our top three to score 70-80. Then the match becomes easier. The boys understood that they did not do well. We have a chance to bounce back tomorrow (today). I want the batsmen to follow their basics.”

The Barishal coach was impressed with young pacer Shafiqul, who ended the match with the figures of two wickets for 20 runs.

“Shafiqul bowled impressively. I have been watching him for the last 5-6 years. He is improving by the day. He bowled very well in the nets too. I wanted to play him in the first match, but could not because of the team combination. He bowled really well, and can be a great prospect for Bangladesh cricket,” Mahmud added.

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