Tamim leads Fortune Barishal to BPL playoffs

Tamim Iqbal hit a fine half-century to lead Fortune Barishal to a resounding six-wicket victory over second-placed Comilla Victorians in their final group game in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNCS) in Mirpur on Friday. 

The win confirmed Barishal's qualification for the BPL playoffs and knocked Khulna Tigers out of the tournament even before they faced Sylhet Strikers in their last match of the group stage. 

Defending champions Comilla rode on Jaker Ali's unbeaten 16-ball-38 to score a modest 140-8 after 20 overs. 

Their star-studded line-up consisting of Litton Das, Sunil Narine, Towhid Hridoy, Andre Russell and Moeen Ali failed to get going and as a result, Comilla couldn't manage to get a big score. 

Barishal skipper Tamim used all his experience of playing on such wickets and anchored the chase in his own way. It was not the most controlled knock as the southpaw lost his shape a few times while playing shots.

Tamim was particularly brutal against the overseas trio of Andre Russell, Moeen Ali and Matthew Forde. Although it was Russell who got Tamim in the end for 66 off 48, Tamim had already done enough to ensure his side's victory. 

After Tamim's fall, Soumya Sarkar and Mahmudullah put the finishing touches to take Barishal home with two deliveries in hand.

Tamim, who was "nervous" to his own admission leading up to the tournament because of a lack of competitive cricket, is now the highest run-getter of the tournament with 391 runs in 12 innings. Friday's match was the second occasion where the left-hander was named the player of the match. 

His approach in T20s is often criticised, and unfairly on many occasions, as Tamim managed to get his team off to good starts multiple times in the tournament. 

Since the start of the Chattogram phase, Tamim has been in imperious touch. He scored a fine 45-ball-71 against Durdanto Dhaka and a 20-ball-33 against Rangpur Riders at his home ground.

On Friday, he didn't need to go hard from the start. Ahmed Shehzad went early and Kyle Mayers was not having a good time. Tamim stayed at one end to take the game deep and reached his fifty in 40 deliveries. 

The opener smashed a six off Forde to reach his fifty and blasted another boundary in the very next ball. Three overs later, Forde's West Indies teammate Russell was hit for a straight six which calmed the nerves in the dressing room as things were getting a little bit tight.