BPL 2017, Match 13 Review: Dhaka Dynamites register a thrilling win by 4 wickets

In a thrilling extravaganza, Dhaka Dynamites registered a crucial win against the Khulna Titans and cemented the table toppers spot. Kieron Pollard’s breathtaking innings was well supported by the player of the game, Jahurul Islam to seal a brilliant run chase exactly off the penultimate ball of the innings.

Batting first, the Titans were off to a slow start. There was a slight change in the batting order, with Michael Klinger opening the innings with Nazmul Shanto and both these players found it difficult to cope with the Dynamites bowlers. Afridi and Mosaddek Hossain did a fantastic job, restricting them to 29/2 inside the Powerplay, with Klinger and Dhiman Ghosh getting dismissed.

Runs completely dried up in the next few overs, which meant the Titans finished at 46 for the loss of three wickets at the halfway mark. Nazmul Shanto was dismissed as well and the onus was on the skipper Mahmudullah and Rilee Rossouw to step up and help their team register a defendable total on board.

Mahmudullah looked promising with a couple of boundaries but fell prey to Afridi’s masterclass. Their innings was going nowhere and then came Carlos Brathwaite, who played a sensational inning. It was typically a Caribbean knock and got the crowd going. In a matter of moments, Brathwaite completed a breathtaking half-century and the Rossouw – Brathwaite duo added 54 runs in 34 balls before Rossouw was dismissed in the 18th over.

Brathwaite managed to accumulate 30 runs in the final two overs, which helped the Titans register 156 runs in their 20 overs. They were tottering badly at one stage, but eventually managed defendable total thanks to Brathwaite’s brilliance. The spin trio of Narine, Shakib and Afridi once again did a great job, conceding just 77 in 12 overs between them.

A sensational recovery from the Dynamites

Khulna Titans clearly had the momentum going into the second innings, but the way they bowled in the first few overs was absolutely tremendous. After getting the big fish Evin Lewis in the very first over, Akila Dananjaya cleaned up Sunil Narine and Shafiul Islam followed it up with another big wicket of Shahid Afridi.

Shakib Al Hasan was trying his best to get the innings going, but he and Cameron Delport got dismissed in quick succession as well. Just inside the nine overs, Dhaka was reduced to a paltry 41 runs for the loss of five wickets. The game was well and truly in the Titans control and just the it happened in the first innings, it was a Caribbean dasher who changed the course of the match.

Jahurul Islam and Kieron Pollard stitched a fantastic sixth wicket partnership which re-ignited the hopes of the Dhaka supporters. They added 73 runs together and with Pollard going absolutely berserk, the game was slipping away from the Titans. With the big man from Windies reaching his half-century, Jahurul Islam played a brilliant second fiddle knock.

Yet, the onus shifted completely on to Islam with Pollard getting dismissed at the business end. With 10 runs to get off 7 balls, a boundary from Mosaddek Hossain shifted the gears completely towards their side and although Brathwaite did his best to contain the batters in the final over, a reverse paddle shot from Jahurul reached the boundary line and Dhaka pulled off a memorable comeback.

Brief Scores

Khulna Titans: 156/5 in 20 overs (Carlos Brathwaite 64*, Rilee Rossouw 34; Abu Hider Rony 2/40, Sunil Narine 1/22)

Dhaka Dynamites: 157/6 in 19.5 overs (Kieron Pollard 54, Jahurul Islam 45*; Shafiul Islam 2/24)

Player of the match: Jahurul Islam