Gayle, Rana down Mushfiqur’s Khulna

Shakib Al Hasan's Fortune Barishal upstaged Khulna Tigers by 17 runs in the Bangladesh Premier League match at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium on Saturday. 

Sent in to bat, Barishal made changes to their batting order, sending Chris Gayle and Jake Lintott to open the innings for the first time this tournament. But except Gayle, none of the other batters found a strong foothold. Gayle's 34-ball 45 saw Barishal start well but the innings fell away with Kamrul Islam, Thisara Perera and Farhad Reza chipped in with two wickets each. The chops and changes in the batting order saw Shakib Al Hasan come in at number seven but he managed to get enough connection late in the innings and departed for 9 as Barishal managed 141 for 9.

In reply, Barishal's new arrival Mujeeb Ur Rahman had an immediate say with the ball, removing Andre Fletcher and Soumya Sarkar cheaply. Wickets kept falling in regular intervals before Yasir Ali and Mushfiqur Rahim held the innings together with a 46-run fifth-wicket stand. 

But when it looked like Khulna would be able to rely on some of their power hitters late down the order, Mehedi Hasan Rana and Lintott bagged crucial wicket. Mushfiqur Rahim, dropped in the 18th over, looked like he could carry the team over the ropes when they needed 21 from 2 overs. Left-arm pacer Rana however held firm, picking up three wickets including the all-important final wicket of Mushfiqur Rahim in the penultimate over to seize victory. Rana finished with four for 17 in three overs while Lintott and Mujeeb bagged two each.