BPL 2017, Match 39 Review: All-round Khulna stuns the table toppers Comilla

Today’s first game in the Bangladesh Premier League was a top of the table clash as Comilla Victorians and Khulna Titans took on each other at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka. While for Comilla, it was a dead rubber as they had not only qualified for the playoffs ahead of the game, but had secured their place in top 2 as well, Khulna came into the game searching for a win to enhance their probability of finishing in top 2 at the league stage.

Khulna got what they were looking for as they were able to pull off a 14- run win and move their points’ tally to 15. However their place in top 2 is still not guaranteed as their net run is lower than the 3rd placed Dhaka Dynamites. The Dynamites still have one game to go. If they win that one, they will also stretch their points’ tally to 15 and in that scenario, they will grab the second spot in the table on the basis of a better run rate.

Coming to today’s game, Khulna won the toss and decided to put runs on the board first and all their batsmen chipped in with little cameos. The highest score in the innings was 37, still they managed to get to a score of more than 170 because of the useful partnerships that they had right through the innings.

And just like in batting, they put on a collective performance with the ball too as all their bowlers chipped in with a wicket or two each to hold the table toppers Comilla, who had some of the world’s best T20 players in their line-up, behind the target.

Comilla with their batting prowess would definitely have backed themselves to chase down the target of 174, but surprisingly they couldn’t get the job done and when they look back at their innings, they would probably feel that they left a bit too much to do for the finishers.

Shoaib Malik and Marlon Samuels played good hands at the latter stages of the innings, but the top order batsmen had consumed so many deliveries that the required run rate had gone out of the hands and the chase had got virtually impossible. Ariful Haque, who scored a handy 35 with the bat for Khulna, was adjudged the man of the match.

Brief Scores:

Khulna Titans: 174/6 in 20 overs (Nazmul Hossain Shanto 37, Ariful Haque 35, Al-Amin Hossain 52/3)

Comilla Victorians: 160/7 in 20 overs (Shoaib Malik 36, Marlon Samuels 25, Benny Howell 32/2)

Man of the match: Ariful Haque