Fortune Barishal strengthened their position of second place as they beat Khulna Tigers by seven runs in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram on Wednesday.聽
Mahmudullah鈥檚 fifty and Rishad Hossain鈥檚 late blitz helped Barishal to post 167-9 from a precarious position of 16-3.聽
Khulna, in reply, got close but couldn鈥檛 get over the line despite opener Naim Sheikh鈥檚 77 runs off 58 balls as they managed 160-6.
Needing 25 in the last over, Naim struck two sixes in the first three deliveries but fell in the fourth ball.聽
Khulna captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz struck in the first over of Barishal鈥檚 innings to dismiss Tamim Iqbal and Dawid Malan. Mushfiqur Rahim鈥檚 run out deepened the wound.
Mahmudullah and Towhid Hridoy (36 off 30) steadied the ship before they lost three quick wickets again. Rishad Hossain鈥檚 19-ball 39-run helped them to put up a fighting total.聽
Rishad was part of three quickfire partnerships of 47 (28), 17 (7), and 15 (6) with Mahmudullah, Jahandad Khan, and Tanvir Islam, respectively. Barishal scored 76 runs from the last six overs.聽
In reply, Khulna also lost opener Imrul Kayes early in the chase before Mehidy and Naim put 59 off 51 for the second wicket.聽
However, Mehidy was dismissed without making up for the low strike rate of his 29-ball, 33-run innings. The required run rate then crept up before a couple of big overs.聽
Ultimately, Khulna failed to catch up and suffered their fifth defeat of the season.