All-round Khulna rack up dominant win over Barishal

Gemcon Khulna completely outplayed Fortune Barishal in the 11th match of the Bangabandhu T20 Cup at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on Friday. The former won by 48 runs, making it difficult for Barishal to qualify.

Tamim Iqbal and Parvez Hossain Emon started well while chasing 177. Barishal did not lose a single wicket in the powerplay and scored 44 runs. Emon got out in the 8th over, with the score being 57 for one. Tamim, unlike the previous two games, came out with an attacking frame of mind.  But he could not capitalise on the start he got yet again and got out in the same over as Emon. He made a 21-ball-32. 

Afif Hossain also fell in quick succession and registered yet another single digit score. All on a sudden, from 57 for no loss, Barishal were restricted to 60 for three.

Gemcon Khulna couldn't pick up many wickets in the middle overs but never let the batsmen off the hook. The required run rate was creeping up but Towhid Hridoy and Irfan Sukkur couldn't step on the accelerator. 

Sukkur was cleaned up by Shakib in the 15th over, with Barishal still needing 86 off 34 balls. Barishal batsmen could never gained momentum and since Afif's wicket, they never looked like chasing the total down. In the end, they could only manage 125.

Hasan Mahmud, Shahidul Islam and Shuvagata Hom picked up two wickets each and Al-Amin Hossain and Shakib Al Hasan shared two among themselves. 

The record of captains winning the toss and fielding first remains intact as Fortune Barishal skipper Tamim Iqbal won the toss and put Gemcon Khulna in to bat. The start was not as good as Gemcon Khulna would've liked. Jahurul Islam, who was promoted to open the innings with Zakir Hasan, never got going and got out in the 3rd over, making 2 off 10 deliveries. But his partner Zakir Hasan carried on with great conviction. The southpaw looked for opportunities to score. His dot ball percentage was low and the southpaw was able to maintain a healthy strike rate. He found an ally in Imrul Kayes, who played a good hand of 37 off 34 balls. Kayes, before his departure, put on 90 off 68 deliveries with Zakir. 

Zakir did not last too long after Kayes' dismissal, but he set up an excellent platform for his team to explode at the back end. The left hander, before getting out in the 16th over, played a stroke-filled knock of 63 off 42 balls with the help of 10 fours. 

Shakib Al Hasan came out to bat at number four but failed to make a substantial score yet again as he managed 14 off 10 balls. Skipper Mahmudullah's cameo of 24 off 14 balls and the late flourish from Ariful Haque and Shuvagata Hom propelled Khulna to a substantial total of 176. 

Kamrul Islam Rabbi was once again among the wickets. The right arm pacer picked up three wickets, conceding 33 runs off his four. Taskin Ahmed was on the expensive side despite picking up two wickets. He went for 44 off four overs. Slow left arm bowler Tanvir Islam picked up the important scalp of Shakib.