Dhaka down Khulna to clinch thriller

Two sixes in the two balls from all-rounder Shuvagata Hom took Minister Dhaka over the line against Khulna Tigers in Sylhet on Wednesday as they won by five wickets.

With this win, Dhaka leapfrogged Khulna in the points table to move up to third. Khulna, on the other hand, dropped down to fourth.

In a low-scoring match, Khulna managed 129-8, courtesy of a 64-run innings from Zimbabwean all-rounder Sikandar Raza. In reply, two cameos from Shamsur Rahman and Shuvagata took Dhaka to the win.

Batting first, Khulna had a horror start as they lost four wickets within the fourth over. A brilliant catch from Shuvagata saw Soumya (1) go, and a run-out meant curtains for Jaker Ali (5).

In the fourth over, back-to-back strikes from Arafat Sunny meant the return of Andre Fletcher (6) and Yasir Ali, reducing Khulna to 12-4.

Skipper Mushfiqur Rahim (12) was also gone in the seventh over, but Raza took on from thereon. Shak Mahedi Hasan (17) and Thisara Perera (12) provided him support, but the Zimbabwean all-rounder was the driving force to take them to a fighting total of 129-8.

Raza was out on the final delivery of the innings after scoring 64 runs off 50 deliveries, hitting five fours and four sixes.

Arafat Sunny and Azmatullah Omarzai picked up two wickets for Dhaka, with Fazalhaq Farooqi, Rubel Hossain, and Qais Ahmed picking up one each.

In reply, Dhaka also lost their openers early as Nabil Samad removed Tamim in the third over, and Khaled Ahmed dismissed Imranuzzaman in the next. Tamim was initially given not out, but a successful review from Khulna saw the decision overturned.

A 57-run stand between skipper Mahmudullah Riyad (34) and Jahurul Islam (30) steadied Dhaka’s ship, but their slow approach meant they required 62 off the last eight overs.

Shamsur’s cameo of 25 runs from 14 balls brought the required run-rate down, but a brilliant penultimate over, which gave away only four runs, meant Dhaka needed 11 from the last six deliveries.

But Shuvagata only needed two. He smashed Perera down the ground for a maximum in the first ball of the 20th over, before smoking the next delivery over extra cover to secure the win for his side.