Barishal Brighten Chances For BPL Play-Offs

Fortune Barishal bolstered their playoff hopes after beating Sylhet Strikers by 18 runs in their tenth match of the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2024 at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram on Saturday.

West Indies’ Kyle Mayers contributed with both bat and ball to secure the crucial win for Barishal in his first match of BPL. Mayers scored 31 ball-48 before taking 3-12 to script Barishal’s sixth victory out of 10 matches. 

Going to bat first, Barishal put up 183-6 with Mushfiqur Rahim scoring the highest 52. 

Barishal were slumped to 65-3, losing skipper Tamim Iqbal (19), Ahmed Shehzad (17) and Soumya Sarkar (8).

But Mayers and Mushfiqur put on 84-run for the fourth wicket stand to lay a solid platform. Later, Mehidy Hasan Miraz added 15 runs to set a competitive score against Sylhet.

Tanzim Hasan Sakib claimed the highest 3-48 for Sylhet.

Mayers however sliced the middle order, which was key in reducing Sylhet to 40-6 in 9.4 overs. 

Benny Howell and Ariful Haque hit fluent fifties and shared a 108-run, the highest for seventh wicket in BPL history, but that still proved to be insufficient. Howell scored 32 ball-53 while Ariful 57 off 31.

In response, Sylhet scored 165-8 in the stipulated 20 overs.

Mayers dealt a double strike in the first over of the innings, as he removed Harry Tector and Najmul Hossain Shanto, both for duck, much to the despair of Sylhet, who needed to win this match badly to keep them in the race.

Mayers then also took the wicket of skipper Mithun for 10 while spinners Kashav Maharaj and Mehidy Hasan Miraz further caused the damage with the wicket of Angelo Perera and Ryan Burul.

Barishal are currently third spot in the points table behind Rangpur Riders and Comilla Victorians.

Sylhet with six points are still in the race mathematically but their chances looked almost over.