|| CF Correspondent ||

Khulna Titans finally got another victory in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) after their 21-run victory over Sylhet Sixers on Wednesday at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.

The victory effectively stripped off their bottom-placed tag leaving Sylhet Sixers at bottom place. Khulna Titans and Sylhet now have four points, playing nine and eight games respectively but Sylhet stay at the last position by run-rate.

Titans posted 170 for nine after being sent to bat first, a score that their bowlers complemented well by timely breakthrough which finally enabled them to restrict Sylher Sixers to 149 for seven.

Brendan Taylor gave impetus in Khulna Titans innings, hitting 31 ball-48 with four fours and two sixes. He laid the solid platform for the side, sharing a 73-run opening partnership with Juanid Siddqiuq who made 33 off 23, clobbering six fours.

After Alok Kapali broke through with the wicket of Junaid, Khulna lost the momentum as the middle order failed to capitalize on the start provided by the openers.

Kapali ended with four for 22 and was well supported by Taskin Ahmed and Pakistan’s Mohammad Nawaz’s two wickets apiece.

Kapali was in fact the wrecker-in-chief. He not only ripped through Khulna halfway through the innings but also slowed down their scoring rate to help Sylhet claw back into the game.

His key wicket however was Taylor who looked set to take Khulna past 200. But Kapali outfoxed him with a traditional leg-break, forcing him to offer a catch at long-on.

Amid the wickets tumbling, David Wiese resisted and played an important role to help Khulna set a respectable target, what looked unlikely at one phase. Wiese hammered two fours and two sixes in his 25 ball-38, a knock that was vital in reviving Titans hope of breaking the losing streak.

In a bid to defend the total, Shuvashis Roy helped Titans get off well by removing Liton Das in the first ball of the innings. Thereafter left-arm spinner Taijul Islam took the onus and he dismantled the middle order with three hauls to leave Sixers at tittering 56 for four.

However Mohammad Nawaz and Nicholas Pooran gave Sixers a hope to hit back as they shared 81 runs for the fifth wicket stand and made Sixers a firm favourite to win the game.