BPL 2017, Match 30 Review: Khulna Titans defeat Rajshahi Kings to get to the top of the table

Everything seems to be going Khulna Titans’ way as they pulled off an enthralling victory against Rajshahi Kings in Monday’s match. With this victory, Khulna are poised comfortably at the top of the points table with 13 points to their name. On the other hands, it might just be the end of the line for Rajshahi as they’re down and out at the last but one position on the rankings ladder.

Having won the toss, Rajshahi Kings opted to bowl first at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong. However, the match slipped out of their hands from the very beginning and the match unravelled in a way the toss-winning side would never want.

The opener for the Khulna side, Nazmul Hossain Shanto scored a quickfire inning worth 49 runs off 31 deliveries and gave his team the perfect start. His compatriot, Rilee Rossouw was run out early on by a brilliant direct throw from Zakir Hasan and skipper, Mahmadullah was bowled out for a personal score of just a run. But that’s where the achievements of the bowling side run out.

The batsmen of the Khulna Titans put their hands up in the high-octane clash and put up an exemplary performance as a batting unit. Number 3 batsman, Afif Hossain remained unbeaten at 54 runs, while Carlos Brathwaite played last-minute swashbuckling innings worth 34 runs off just 14 deliveries, hitting 3 boundaries and 3 sixes in the process.

The show-stopper, however, was wicketkeeper Nicholas Pooran. The 22-year-old played a knock beyond his years and showcased his umpteen batting talent as he registered 57 runs off 26 balls and helped his team get to the final score of 213 runs- the highest total in the ongoing edition of the tournament.

Rajshahi Kings put up an abysmal show with the bat

Nothing much was there to be credited to the Rajshahi bowlers as they conceded the highest total in BPL 2017. With almost every bowler getting hit all over the park and recording economy rates of over 10 an over, Mohammad Sami was the only bowler who conceded a few runs less at an economy of 5.5.

Chasing the target, Rajshahi would’ve wanted to bat better than they did bowl and field. Alas, it was not to be! Pacer, Shaiful Islam struck early to remove Mominul Haque and Luke Wright in the third over itself and from there on, there was only a half-hearted effort on the part of Rajshahi.

Rony Talukdar put in a brave inning of 36 runs off 23 balls, but that was only a drop in the ocean of a 214 target. Key batsmen, Darren Sammy and Mushfiqur Rahim failed to contribute, and winning the match began to look like a distant dream and the actual match scenario a nightmare to their team.

Zakir Hasan (19) and Mehidy Hasan (29) were the only ones with significant batting figures at the end of the day, but it wasn’t enough to get their team over the line. Shaiful Islam proved to be the standout bowler for Khulna Titans as he picked up 5 wickets in his spell of 4 overs, while conceding only 26 runs.

Pacer, Abu Jayed scalped 2 wickets on his part and augmented his team’s effort as Khulna Titans went on to seal the match with a 68-run victory with one over to spare and gained 2 more points to get to the top of the rankings table.

Brief Scores

Khulan Titans- 213/5 in 20.0 overs (Nicholas Pooran 57; James Franklin 3/50 in 4 overs)

Rajshahi Kings- 145/10 in 19 overs (Rony Talukdar 36; Shaiful Islam 5/26 in 4 overs)

Player of the match- Nicholas Pooran