Dawid Malan hit a 37-ball 63 to help Fortune Barishal take a step closer to one of the top two positions going into the playoffs as they beat Khulna Tigers by five wickets at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Monday.
Barishal are now equal on points with Rangpur (16), but only in second place because of their slightly lesser net run rate (1.033) than the latter (1.070).
Khulna posted 187-5 in their allotted 20 overs thanks to opener Naim Sheikh鈥檚 quickfire fifty (51 off 27) and a late blitz from Mahidul Islam (27 off 12).
But Barishal, having a tall batting line-up, chased that down with five balls remaining.
Khulna started their innings on a quick note as they added 56-1 in the powerplay with captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz making 29 off 18. The first two partnerships yielded 47 off 33 and 52 off 20, respectively.
But they failed to capitalise on the start they got as Barishal were able to keep things tight in the middle. Between the 10th and 17th, only 51 runs were added.
Barishal also got a similar start to Khulna despite losing Towhid Hridoy early. Tamim Iqbal (27 off 25) and Malan added 91 off 56 to lay the perfect foundation for Barishal.
鈥業 think we had a decent powerplay, which sort of kept the required run rates under 10,鈥� Malan told the reporters after the match.
鈥榃hen you do that in the chase, you need one boundary in the over. Tamim and I were always talking about one boundary. 鈥淚f you get a boundary, don鈥檛 be silly; if you take five singles, you鈥檝e got nine in the over.鈥� That kept us in touch.鈥�
Barishal also used the tactics to nullify Mohammad Nawaz and Nasum Ahmed鈥攖wo left-arm spinners.
鈥楢lso the fact that we tried the lefties to bat as long as possible to keep their two left-arm spinners out of the game. And then when I got out they were able to bowl them, which is, from a tactical point of view, a bit silly from me. But that鈥檚 the game,鈥� said Malan.
Tamim and Malan fell in quick succession, but two senior campaigners, Mushfiqur Rahim (24 off 17) and Mahmudullah (24 off 13), were able to keep up the pace.
Then Faheem Ashraf (18* off 6) and Mohammad Nabi (15* off 10) took Barishal home to hand Khulna their sixth defeat of the season.
William Bosisto, Khulna鈥檚 Australian signing, didn鈥檛 hide his frustration over the team鈥檚 performance.
鈥業t鈥檚 a fair comment that it鈥檚 [Khulna鈥檚 campaign so far] very frustrating. We鈥檝e had some close finishes. In T20 cricket, you鈥檝e got to win the key moments. We haven鈥檛 been able to win the key moments. Looking back, we could鈥檝e won every game we played,鈥� said Bosisto.
But he remained hopeful. 鈥楤ut ultimately we are still in the tournament; if we win the last two games, we give ourselves a chance for the playoffs,鈥� said the batter.
