Clinical Dhaka break losing jinx to confirm play-offs
BCB
||CF Correspondent||
Dhaka Dynamites broke five-match losing streak to confirm their play-off spot as the fourth team in Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) as they secured a six-wicket win over Khulna Titans on Saturday at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
Their bowlers firstly backed up by some electrifying fielding helped the side restrict Titans to paltry 123 for nine before their batsmen gunned down the total with 31 balls to spare.
Dhaka though collected 12 points from 12 matches, same as Rajshahi Kings, they toppled the latter with the better run rate. The reigning runners-up will take on Chittagong Vikings in the Eliminator game on Monday.
Table topper Rangpur Riders will take on second-placed Comilla Victorians in the Qualifier-1 game. The winner of this game will move into the final straightway while the loser will take on the winner of the Eliminator game to give a shot at the final.
Sunil Narine gave the side a dazzling start, smashing a 13 ball-35 with two fours and four sixes and it looked the match would be a just one-way traffic.
But it was not to be Dhaka batsmen though kept hitting all the things came to their way, they lost some wickets at the middle. After Sunil Narine, his fellow opener Upul Tharanga kept the things right by hitting 42 off 30 with four fours and two sixes amid the wickets tumbling to make the things easier.
Later Nurul Hasan Sohan (27 not out) and Keiron Pollard ( 9 not out) finished the game well to mentality boost Dhaka up ahead of their Eliminator game against Chittagong Vikings. Dhaka lost six matches out of last seven, including five straight defeats before this match.
Electing to bat first, Khulna fell into deep trouble as their batsmen played some reckless shot to throw their wickets. However, Shakib Al Hasan and Rubel Hossain was key in Dhaka’s bowling claiming two wickets apiece for 32 and 27 runs respectively.
Rubel gave the initial breakthrough by dismissing Juanid Siddique (2) with a slower before Shakib got the better of in-form Brendan Taylor for 18, with one that spun sharply to trap him in front.
Rubel got another key wicket of Dawid Malan (7) on whom Khulna relied heavily. Rubel’s spell was nicely complemented by young fast bowler Qauzi Anik, considered as the fastest bowler in Bangladesh at the moment.
Anik rattled Khulna skipper Mahmudullah’s stump with searing pace, that left him surprised. With reeling to 56 for four, Khulna looked out-of-sort and jaded but David Wiese showed them a glimmer of hope to finish with a good score. Before it materialized some superb fielding from Sunil Narine caused his run-out dismissal. He was the highest scorer for the team with 30 while Nazmul Hossain Shanto made 24.
Their effort lower down the order enabled Khulna to propel past 100 but it mattered little on a day when Dhaka batsmen regained their Midas touch. Khulna bowed out the tournament, languishing at the bottom of the table with four points from 12 matches.
![Nahid Rana [R], Litton Das [M], Rishad Hossain, Cricfrenzy](https://cricfrenzy.com/public/storage/images/2-2025/b63Kb1P37XIa8965QN348as6.jpg)
