Mahmudullah leads Khulna to thrilling win

Mahmudullah Riyad dismissed three batsmen in the final over as Khulna Titans defended a low total of 133 by three runs in their BPL fixture at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium today.

The Khulna Titans skipper, who had earlier scored 32 runs off 34 deliveries as Khulna Titans scraped to 133 in their allotted 20 overs, got rid of Abul Hasan, Mohammad Sami and Nazmul Islam to defend seven runs off the final over.

Things had looked different even midway through the Rajshahi Kings' chase, with opener Mominul Haque slamming 64 off 57 balls and all-rounder Darren Sammy chipping in with a quickfire 31. 

Earlier, a five-wicket burst from pacer Abul Hasan helped restrict Khulna Titans to 133 for 8 in 20 overs. 

Khulna captain Mahmudullah Riyad won the toss and opted to bat first. After a steady start, Khulna were in trouble at 4-72 inside 12 overs, and could not get the momentum to push for a big total. The sluggish nature of the pitch didn’t make batting any easier. Riki Wessels and Mahmudullah made 32 each but the rest of the batters failed to get going.

Abul Hasan’s five wickets for 28 runs in four overs was the fourth best bowling figures in an innings in Bangladesh Premier League. The five-for was also Hasan’s best figures in T20 cricket. He sent back Wessels, Mahmudullah, Alok Kapali, Ariful Haque and Shafiul Islam to dent Khulna’s hopes of a challenging total. Mehedi Hasan Miraz and Samit Patel picked up a wicket each.

Scores in Brief:

Khulna Titans: 133/8 (Wessels 32, Mahmudullah 32, Abul Hasan 5-28)

Rajshahi Kings: 120 all out in 20 overs (Mominul 64, Sammy 31; Junaid 4-23, Mahmudullah 3-6)

Result: Khulna Titans won by 3 runs

Player-of-the-match: Mahmudullah Riyad