Barishal send Khulna packing

A 37-run win from Fortune Barishal on Friday ensured that Khulna Tigers, who have been subpar throughout the tournament, were knocked out of contention for the playoff stage of the ongoing ninth edition of the Bangladesh Premier League.

Barishal, batting first, put 194-5 on board, and Khulna, despite Yasir Ali Chowdhury’s 60, could only manage 157-8.

This defeat left Khulna with four points from 10 matches, meaning even two wins in their last two matches will not put them in the playoffs as that will be less than Rangpur Riders’, who currently occupy fourth place, 10 points even before they took the field on Friday.

Barishal, on the other hand, have 14 points from 10 matches and sit second on the points table, two points behind toppers Sylhet Strikers.

Khulna had a tumultuous outing in the tournament, which was signified by their change in leadership in the middle of the tournament as they removed the armband from Yasir Ali Chowdhury to put it on Shai Hope.

That did not bring any changes to their fate as they were still knocked out early, which was disappointing for their new captain.

“Very disappointed (to get knocked out with two matches in hand)). Anytime you go into a tournament, you want to finish in the top four to give yourself a chance. We are obviously disappointed with our performance,” he said.

The Caribbean batter felt they failed to string together team efforts, which brought their downfall.

“We are just not getting over the line. We are not being able to put in proper team performances. We have had individual performances every now and again. But to win games and tournaments you have to pull together as a team, but we are not getting over the line this time,” the Khulna captain said.

On Friday, Hope won the toss and opted to field first but it was Barishal who got the good start as Anamul Haque (12) and Fazle Mahmud (39) put together 32 runs in just 3.2 overs. The former was sent back by Paul van Meekeren but the latter then added 51 runs with Ibrahim Zadran (23) for the next wicket.

Mahmud, who opened for the first time in this year’s BPL, credited the team management for his performance.

“The team management had told me that I will play at the top if I play. They gave me the freedom to play like I wanted to. They asked me to utilise the powerplay, and I did,” the batter, who hit four fours and two sixes to score 39 off 29 balls, said after the match.

Then, Shakib Al Hasan’s 36 off 21 balls and Iftikhar Ahmed’s unbeaten 51 off 31 balls took Barishal to 194-5.

In reply, Khulna lost Tamim Iqbal (1) in the second over as Mohammad Wasim Jr sent the Bangladesh One-Day International skipper’s stumps cartwheeling, but Hope (37) and Andy Balbirnie’s (12) 44-run partnership kept them up with the run rate.

However, Khaled Ahmed struck twice to get them both, and in between, player of the match Shakib bowled Mahmudul Hasan Joy (0) with an arm ball.

By then, the game was lost and Yasir could only manage to reduce the deficit as he picked up his fifty off 35 balls, and before getting out in the 18th over, scored 60 off 38 balls, hitting five fours and a six.