Barishal aim top two spot

Fortune Barishal will take on Khulna Tigers as the final stage of the ongoing ninth edition of the Bangladesh Premier League will start at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka today.

In the day’s second match, Rangpur Riders will lock horns against Dhaka Dominators.

The clash between Barishal and Khulna will see teams start in completely opposite directions as the former sits second on the points table with 12 in the bag while the latter sits second last with four.

A win for Barishal will push them towards their aim of finishing in the top two, which will provide them with an opportunity to have a margin of error in the playoffs as they will have two matches to qualify for the final.

Khulna, on the other hand, must win this match to keep their hopes for a playoff spot alive. Their task is gargantuan as they will need to win all of their remaining three games, and even then it’s not a guarantee as they will have to depend on the result of other teams.

But all of that discussion can be washed away through the second match of the day between Rangpur and Dhaka as a win for the former will not just see Dhaka knocked out but also Khulna and Chattogram.

So, Dhaka, in a sense, will be playing for three teams against a Rangpur side that is in form with three wins on the trot.

However, Rangpur head coach Sohel Islam is only focusing on winning against Dhaka as that will ensure them a place in the playoffs.

“We have been playing well in the last three matches. The boys are in pretty good shape. The confidence level is also good. Hopefully, we will keep our focus all right. We will try to continue the process we have been following in the last three matches.

“We will go to the field to win. We are not thinking that we will reach the playoffs if we win. We are just thinking about how to win the match,” he said.

A recent loss of form has seen Barishal lose sight of table toppers Sylhet Strikers, who will take the field on Saturday. Barishal are currently level on points with defending Champions Comilla Victorians, and with them on a winning run of six games, the Shakib Al Hasan-led side must step up and find their A-game to ensure that they don’t fall off the perch ahead of the playoffs.

Khulna, in their last game, managed a big total of 210 against Comilla, courtesy of Tamim Iqbal’s 95 and skipper Shai Hope’s 91. But that was chased down easily as Comilla’s Johnson Charles hit a ton.

Today, Khulna will hope that they repeat their batting performance and do better with the ball.