BPL 2016, Match 3 Review: Junaid Khan and Mahmudullah star for Khulna Titans

Dhaka was all set to host the first game of the double header. Khulna Titans and Rajshahi Kings locked horns in a bid to take an early advantage in the league. Khulna Titans played under the leadership of Mahmadullah. Former West Indies skipper Darren Sammy took the leadership duties for Rajshahi Kings. Mahmadullah won the toss and opted to bat first. Both captains mentioned a score of 150 to be above par on the surface.

The four overseas players drafted in by the Titans were Nicholas Pooran, Riki Wessels, Junaid Khan and Mohammad Asghar. The Kings roped in the services of Umar Akmal, Samit Patel and Mohammad Sami in addition to skipper Darren Sammy as their overseas powerhouse. With such big names in the lineups, a cracker of a game was in the cards.

Trinidad batsman Nicholas Pooran walked in with Abdul Mazid to open the innings for Khulna Titans. Veteran Pakistan pacer Mohammad Sami took the new ball for the Kings. With accurate lines, he was successful in troubling the openers with the new ball. However, it was the young Bangladeshi sensation Mehedi Hasan who got the first breakthrough for the Rajshahi Kings. Hasan cleaned up Pooran on 14 (15) in the 4th over of the innings. Hasan gave away just 2 runs in his first two overs.

Nottinghamshire batsman Riki Wessels came in to bat next. Wessels and Mazid played cautiously to put on 33 runs on the board in the powerplay. Wessels was the aggressive one in the partnership. He looked good for his 22-ball 32 with 4 fours and a six. It was in the 10th over when Abul Hasan sent him back to the pavilion. Mazid’s struggling resistance of 25-ball 15 ended in the 11th over when he was stumped off the bowling of Samit Patel.

The Titans looked shaky at 65/2 in 10.2 overs. Skipper Mahmudullah and Shuvagata Hom were the two new men at the crease with a task of rebuilding the innings. Shuvagata was sent packing on 3 in the very next over kudos to a fielding collaboration by Mominul, Abul Hasan and Nurul Hasan. Mahmudullah looked threatening during his 32 that came off 21 balls with 4 fours and a six. Veteran batsman Alok Kapali (11) and Ariful Haque (14) gave brief scares but couldn’t provide any impetus to the innings. Abul Hasan kept picking up wickets to dismantle the Titans batting line up.

Two fours of the last two balls of the innings by Mohammad Asghar saw Khulna Titans end on 133/8 by the end of their 20 overs. Abul Hasan was the wrecker in chief with 5/28 to his name in his quota of four overs.

The chase was a modest one but the Rajshahi Kings made it daunting for themselves. Barring opener Mominul Haque, no other batsman in the top four got into the double digits. Junaid Khan wreaked havoc by sending Nurul Hasan (4), Sabbir Rahman (4) and Umar Akmal (0) inside the powerplay to see Kings stuttering at 24/3.

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Samit Patel couldn’t do much either during his 21 ball stay at the crease. He was dismissed on 10 by Mohammad Asghar. Skipper Sammy walked in the middle to join Mominul Haque, who quietly watched the wickets tumble from one end. Haque batted sensibly and soon reached his fifty to bail out Rajshahi out of trouble. They reached the 100 run mark by the end of the 16th over. With 33 needed off the last 4 overs, the game could have swung either way.

Sammy hit 3 towering sixes to almost take the game away from Titans. He perished in his attempt to go for more in the 18th over. Sammy scored 31 off 23 balls before being bowled by Shafiul. Shafiul then dismissed the set batsman Mominul on 64 (57) to get the Titans right back in the game. With 14 needed off 13 balls and two new batsmen – Abul Hasan and Farhad Reza – at the crease, match was equally poised.

Reza became Junaid’s 4th victim in the penultimate over to bring Mohammad Sami at the crease. Skipper Mahmadullah took the ball in his hands for the last over with 7 to defend. He bowled a wide upfront but got the wicket of Abul Hasan on the 3rd ball. On the very next delivery, he dismissed Sami too to become the unlikely hero of the match. With 4 needed in 1 ball and 1 wicket in hand, nobody fancied the Kings to chase it down.

Nazmul Islam was stumped on the final delivery as the Titans won a cliffhanger by just 3 runs. Mahmudullah led from the front, oh well, towards the end to win this one for the Titans.

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Brief Scores:

Khulna Titans 133/8 in 20 overs (Mahmudullah 32, Wessels 32, Abul Hasan 5/28, Mehedi Hasan 1/15)

Rajshahi Kings 130/10 in 20 overs (Mominul 64, Sammy 31, Junaid 4/23, Mahmadullah 3/6)