BPL 4, Match 18, Review: Khulna Titans topple Dhaka Dynamites despite Prasanna blitz

Dhaka Dynamites had a crushing win over the Chittagong Vikings recently. They were now up against Khulna Titans. Compared to the Vikings, the Titans were a slightly more balanced unit. No wonder the Dynamites knew they could be up for an upset if they take their clash lightly. The 18th match saw Khulna Titans topple the Dhaka Dynamites to register an important win.

Earlier in the day, the Khulna Titans skipper Mahmudullah surprised everyone by electing to bat first after winning the toss. The trend of the tournament had been chasing to win games. Mahmudullah surely had some other plans in hand. The Titans have had close games while defending in the season. They had the West Indies trio of Nicholas Pooran, Andre Fletcher and Kevon Cooper to go with Junaid Khan as their overseas players.

The Dynamites stuck to their same core side and continued to have Matt Coles in their line up. Skipper Shakib Al Hasan took the new ball and he was up against Andre Fletcher and Hasanuzzaman. Hasanuzzaman had the worst dismissal that any batsman could ever had. He could not even get a golden duck. He was run out in the first over by Sunzamul before he even faced a ball. Shuvagata Hom was the new man in. Both Hom and Fletcher looked in decent touch. Fletcher took the attack to the Dynamites bowling.

Fletcher scored a 16-ball 20 before being dismissed by Sunzamul in the 4th over. Skipper Mahmudullah walked in to bat. He had a very poor tournament with the bat thus far. A good knock was round the corner and it arrived on this day. Despite losing Hom on 24 (20) in the 9th over to Dwayne Bravo, the skipper looked determined to set a high total.

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Bravo sent Nicholas Pooran on 16 soon after but Mahmudullah ensured that the run flow never stopped. The Khulna Titans were placed at 96/4 in 13.2 overs when Pooran was sent back to the hut. Taibur Rahman played the ideal support for the captain as Mahmudullah raced past his first fifty of the season.

Taibur played the supporting role, albeit a very defensive one. Mahmudullah perished in the last over after scoring a handy 62 off 44 balls with 4 fours and as many sixes. His efforts, combined with Taibur’s unbeaten 21 off 22 balls saw Khulna Titans post 157/5 in their stipulated 20 overs. Dwayne Bravo was the pick of the bowlers for Dynamites with 2/27 in his 4 overs.

Dhaka Dynamites were down and out in the run chase until some late hitting by Seekkuge Prasanna gave them a hope. The in-form opener Mehedi Maruf departed cheaply on 6 as he was dismissed by Kevon Cooper. Kumar Sangakkara’s poor run continued as he could just 2 before becoming Junaid Khan’s victim. Nasir Hossain (7) and Matt Coles (11) also went inside the powerplay overs. The Dhaka Dynamites struggled at 30/4 in the powerplay.

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Mosaddek Hossain Saikat provided some resistance but the wickets kept tumbling at the other end. Shakib (8) and Bravo (4) could not do much for the Dynamites and Khulna Titans looked to have a strangle hold. When Mosaddek was dismissed on 35 (28) by Monir Hossain in the 14th over, nobody gave the Dhaka Dynamites a chance. They reeled at 83/7.

In walked Seekkuge Prasanna to join Sunzamul at the crease. What perspired in the next few overs was an absolute delight for the spectators. The Sri Lankan batsman provided a royal treat for the crowds. He turned into a nightmare for the Khulna bowlers. Prasanna singlehandedly turned the match upside down. He brought up his fifty in just 18 balls with 7 towering sixes to his name. The equation was down to 15 needed off the last 2 overs. He lost Sunzamul midway but that did not bother him.

Suhrawadi Shuvo was run out on 3 in the penultimate over to have Dynamites 9 down. Mohammad Shahid arrived at the crease. With 10 needed off the last over, all eyes were on the batsman Prasanna and bowler Kevon Cooper. Khulna Titans had earlier defended 6 off the last over on two occasions this season. Prasanna hit the very first delivery of the over straight in the hands of long off Anamul Haque. It was a full delivery but Prasanna failed to the elevation on the shot. He perished after scoring 53 off 22 balls with 7 sixes as Dynamites fell short by 9 runs.

Brief Scores:

Khulna Titans 157/5 in 20 overs (Mahmudullah 62, Hom 24, Bravo 2/27, Sunzamul 1/22)

Dhaka Dynamites 148/10 in 19.1 overs (Prasanna 53, Mosaddek 35, Mosharraf 3/31, Cooper 3/35)