Naim Sheikh smashed the second hundred of his career to set up Khulna Tigers’ comprehensive 46-run win over Rangpur Riders in their do-or-die BPL clash at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Thursday.
The left-handed opener’s 62-ball unbeaten 111-run orchestrated Khulna’s 220-4 in the allotted overs. In reply, Rangpur stumbled to 174-9 despite Soumya Sarker’s 74 off 48 balls.
The win kept Khulna in the hunt for a place in the playoffs as they now have 10 points with one match remaining. A win against Dhaka Capitals in their last match on Saturday will ensure the playoffs.
Rangpur, however, suffered their fourth straight defeat to finish the group stage after winning the first eight matches. They’re currently second in the table, but Chittagong Kings can topple them if they win their remaining two matches.
Rangpur bowlers suffered heavy blows on the day, particularly Mohammad Saifuddin, who gave away 55 runs in just three overs, as Naim & Co continued to punish them.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz (21 off 12) led a breezy start for Khulna before Naim and William Bosisto laid the perfect foundation with their partnership of 88 runs in 47 balls for the third wicket.
Naim, who struck seven fours and eight sixes, finished things off nicely by adding a further 70 in just 32 balls with Mahidul Islam (29 off 15).
The southpaw, who took 33 balls to reach fifty and then 55 to complete the hundred, later said that he was just happy to contribute for the team in a must-win situation.
‘You must win games in these circumstances,’ Naim told reporters after the match.
‘Happy to contribute well. We’re behind; to climb the ladder, you must win. I tried to take my team to give ourselves a deep chance.’
Naim also hailed Mehidy as a captain to keep things calm in the dressing room even when things weren’t going well for them.
He said, ‘Miraz bhai is a strong lad mentally. He tries to boost up everyone and tries to calm the dressing room. We lost three to four matches on the trot. But no one lost patience; no one panicked despite knowing that two more losses would eliminate us.’
Rangpur, on the other hand, are finding it hard to keep things together. Soumya, who has recently made a comeback after an injury, showed positive signs going into the playoffs.
The left-hander fell in the last over of the chase, but by then, everything was all but over for Rangpur.
Mushfik Hasan, the pacer who was playing his first competitive match in almost eight months, took 3-24 while spinner Mohammad Nawaz took 2-8.
Hasan Mahmud (1-20) and Nasum Ahmed (1-18) also helped Khulna to restrict Rangpur well below the target.
‘I think, when we won the first eight matches, we tried to carry the momentum,’ said Shanian Taneem, the director of Rangpur.
‘That’s why we didn’t even rest our players except Nahid Rana for one match, that too for the national interest.
‘Unfortunately we couldn’t carry the momentum, and that probably led to four defeats. When you keep losing, you will feel mentally drained. We’ve proven in the past, even in Guyana. Now we have no options left other than backing each other. The best we can do now is to prepare for the next match,’ he added.