Khulna brighten play-off hopes

Frylinck, Rossouw show their mettle with cherry and willow

Khulna Tigers brighten their play-off hopes when they crushed Cumilla Warriors by 34 runs in the high-scoring but crucial fifth-leg match of the ongoing Akash-DTH Bangabandhu-Bangladesh Premier League at the Sher-e-Bangla National cricket Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.

Despite winning the match, Khulna have to wait for another win from their next two matches for their confirmation of the play-off berth. Cumilla, on the other hand, kept their mathematical hopes of qualifying for the play-off slot.

Chasing the tricky 180-run target to win, Cumilla Warriors lost two key top-order batsmen -Stiaan van Zyl and Dawid Malan- inside five overs, while they were teetering at 31-2. Sabbir Rahman in association with Soumya Sarkar struck 51 runs for the third-wicket stand that gave a glimmer of hopes to chase the difficult target.

But fast medium bowler Robbie Frylinck put them apart from the race for a while when he removed a marauding Soumya along with Mahidul Islam Ankon in the same over. Soumya was caught out by Mehidy Hasan Miraj off Frylinck after scoring 17-ball 22 with a maximum and two fours. Wicketkeeper-batsman Aknon fell for five-ball duck having bowled.

Sabbir revived their hopes again with Yasir Ali but Mohammad Amin dashed their high hopes when Rilee Rossouw took a one-handed stunning catch to get rid of devastating opener, who silenced his sprawling critic with his spell-binding blitz.

With his departure, Cumilla’s remaining hopes to chase down Khulna’s challenging target ended. The other batsmen has just minimized the difference of the losing margin. Sabbir Rahman blasted 62 off 39 that laced with seven boundaries and two sixes.

Just seven runs later, Yasir Ali was eliminated by pacer Shohidul Islam, who later bowled Abu Haider Rony for duck.

Robbie Frylinck later completed his five-wicket haul when he cleared up David Wiese and Sunzamul Islam. He finished his bowling with the figures of 4-1-16-5 that adjudged the second best bowling performance in BPL after Dhaka Platoon’s Wahab Riaz, who showcased 3.4-1-8-5 against Rajshahi Royals on December 31. He is now fourth wicket-taking bowler with 15 scalps after Mehedi Hasan Rana (17), Mustafizur Rahman (16) and Rubel Hossain (16).  He was named for the player of the match award for his outstanding bowling display.

Fast-bowler Mohammad Amir restricted Cumilla to 145, eradicating Al Amin Hossain. Amin and Shohidul Islam grabbed two wickets apiece for the winners.      

Earlier, Khulna Tigers garnered a challenging 179-2 against Cumilla Warriors, particularly thanks to Rilee Rossouw’s jaw-dropping 71.

Khulna Tigers, who picked Nazmul Hossain Shanto along with Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Amir and Shohidul Islam in their playing XI, dropping Hashim Amla, Tanvir Islam, Alauddin Babu and Aamer Yamin, indicated how serious they are for winning the match to keep their play-offs hopes alive because the rest of the two spots of the play-offs remained open for four teams after Chattogram Challengers and Rajshahi Royals confirmed their respective berth.

After winning the last match against Sylhet Thunder, Cumilla Warriors also girded up their loins to triumph the match for which they fielded Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Stiaan van Zyl dropping Upul Tharanga and Fardeen Hossain Ani. Cumilla captain Dawid Malan invited his Khulna counterpart Mushfiqur Rahim to bat first.

Nazmul Hossain Shanto and Mehidy Hasan Miraj provided a brilliant start to Khulna Tigers on Mirpur’s newly-built track, where they put on 71 runs before breaking the opening stand by Soumya Sarkar.

Though Soumya broke the well-set stand, they actually laid the foundation of the challenging total for the Tigers. Shanto clobbered 29-ball 38 with four boundaries and a six.

Miraj then was moving the scoring wheel with Rilee Rossouw. But David Wiese made him unfortunate as he fell to Wiese after being scored 39, one run more than Shanto. Miraj struck a run-a-ball 39 that littered with two sixes and as many fours.

Since then, Rilee Rossouw paired up captain Mushfiqur Rahim and launched their ruthless devastation. The duo clouted an invaluable 85 for the unbeaten third-wicket stand that helped them post a challenging 179 for two.

Rossouw brought up his fourth half-century from just 26 balls. The globe-trotting South Africa all-rounder smashed a half-a-dozen fours and four maximums in his unbeaten blitz of 36-ball 71 that placed him second (411) on BPL’s highest run-getter charts after Dawid Malan, who dominated the table with 436.  

Wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim was at stumps on 24. He clubbed two boundaries in his unbeaten 17-ball knock.

Khulna brighten play-off hopes

Frylinck, Rossouw show their mettle with cherry and willow

Khulna Tigers brighten their play-off hopes when they crushed Cumilla Warriors by 34 runs in the high-scoring but crucial fifth-leg match of the ongoing Akash-DTH Bangabandhu-Bangladesh Premier League at the Sher-e-Bangla National cricket Stadium in Mirpur yesterday. Despite winning the match, Khulna have to wait for another win from their next two matches for their confirmation of the play-off berth. Cumilla, on the other hand, kept their mathematical hopes of qualifying for the play-off slot. Chasing the tricky 180-run target to win, Cumilla Warriors lost two key top-order batsmen -Stiaan van Zyl and Dawid Malan- inside five overs, while they were teetering at 31-2. Sabbir Rahman in association with Soumya Sarkar struck 51 runs for the third-wicket stand that gave a glimmer of hopes to chase the difficult target. But fast medium bowler Robbie Frylinck put them apart from the race for a while when he removed a marauding Soumya along with Mahidul Islam Ankon in the same over. Soumya was caught out by Mehidy Hasan Miraj off Frylinck after scoring 17-ball 22 with a maximum and two fours. Wicketkeeper-batsman Aknon fell for five-ball duck having bowled. Sabbir revived their hopes again with Yasir Ali but Mohammad Amin dashed their high hopes when Rilee Rossouw took a one-handed stunning catch to get rid of devastating opener, who silenced his sprawling critic with his spell-binding blitz. With his departure, Cumillas remaining hopes to chase down Khulnas challenging target ended. The other batsmen has just minimized the difference of the losing margin. Sabbir Rahman blasted 62 off 39 that laced with seven boundaries and two sixes. Just seven runs later, Yasir Ali was eliminated by pacer Shohidul Islam, who later bowled Abu Haider Rony for duck. Robbie Frylinck later completed his five-wicket haul when he cleared up David Wiese and Sunzamul Islam. He finished his bowling with the figures of 4-1-16-5 that adjudged the second best bowling performance in BPL after Dhaka Platoons Wahab Riaz, who showcased 3.4-1-8-5 against Rajshahi Royals on December 31. He is now fourth wicket-taking bowler with 15 scalps after Mehedi Hasan Rana (17), Mustafizur Rahman (16) and Rubel Hossain (16). He was named for the player of the match award for his outstanding bowling display. Fast-bowler Mohammad Amir restricted Cumilla to 145, eradicating Al Amin Hossain. Amin and Shohidul Islam grabbed two wickets apiece for the winners. Earlier, Khulna Tigers garnered a challenging 179-2 against Cumilla Warriors, particularly thanks to Rilee Rossouws jaw-dropping 71. Khulna Tigers, who picked Nazmul Hossain Shanto along with Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Amir and Shohidul Islam in their playing XI, dropping Hashim Amla, Tanvir Islam, Alauddin Babu and Aamer Yamin, indicated how serious they are for winning the match to keep their play-offs hopes alive because the rest of the two spots of the play-offs remained open for four teams after Chattogram Challengers and Rajshahi Royals confirmed their respective berth. After winning the last match against Sylhet Thunder, Cumilla Warriors also girded up their loins to triumph the match for which they fielded Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Stiaan van Zyl dropping Upul Tharanga and Fardeen Hossain Ani. Cumilla captain Dawid Malan invited his Khulna counterpart Mushfiqur Rahim to bat first. Nazmul Hossain Shanto and Mehidy Hasan Miraj provided a brilliant start to Khulna Tigers on Mirpurs newly-built track, where they put on 71 runs before breaking the opening stand by Soumya Sarkar. Though Soumya broke the well-set stand, they actually laid the foundation of the challenging total for the Tigers. Shanto clobbered 29-ball 38 with four boundaries and a six. Miraj then was moving the scoring wheel with Rilee Rossouw. But David Wiese made him unfortunate as he fell to Wiese after being scored 39, one run more than Shanto. Miraj struck a run-a-ball 39 that littered with two sixes and as many fours. Since then, Rilee Rossouw paired up captain Mushfiqur Rahim and launched their ruthless devastation. The duo clouted an invaluable 85 for the unbeaten third-wicket stand that helped them post a challenging 179 for two. Rossouw brought up his fourth half-century from just 26 balls. The globe-trotting South Africa all-rounder smashed a half-a-dozen fours and four maximums in his unbeaten blitz of 36-ball 71 that placed him second (411) on BPLs highest run-getter charts after Dawid Malan, who dominated the table with 436. Wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim was at stumps on 24. He clubbed two boundaries in his unbeaten 17-ball knock.