Gayle opens as Shakib comes in at seven
Fortune Barishal made big changes to their batting order in the crucial fixture against Khulna Tigers, catching everyone by surprise. The sweeping changes were dictated by the presence of right-arm off-spinners Mahedi Hasan and Mohammad Sharifullah in the Khulna ranks after the latter had won the toss and sent Barishal to bat. The other factor was more obvious, keeping a right-left handed batting combination going.
The big surprise was sending in Chris Gayle, who had come in at number five in previous games, to open the innings alongside Jake Lintott, who was batting at number nine. While the duo did provide a brisk start, Chattogram's off-spin duo kept them under control in the five Powerplay overs they bowled on the trot. With Lintott departing within the Powerplay, Barishal sent in right-handed Ziaur Rahman, who had batted at number eight previously, out to accompany Gayle with coach Khaled Mahmud's plan becoming clearer. The problem for Barishal, however, was that even as Gayle had given momentum with six fours and two sixes, the two spinners were able to contain his extraordinary shot-playing.
One by one, Barishal sent in batters to keep the right-handed-left-handed combination going. After Gayle departed for a well-crafted 34-ball 45, left-handed Najmul Hossain came in. Shakib was sent in at number seven as part of that same strategy, having played at number three in the previous matches. Apart from Gayle, the other batters, however, did not have enough form going for them and Barishal were restricted to 141 for nine.
It was, however, the bowlers that gave Barishal their second win of the tournament, bowling out Mushfiqur Rahim's Khulna for 124 even as things looked tight at one point, with Mehedi Hasan Rana bagging four wickets which included a three-wicket penultimate over of the innings.
Different fifties for Jacks and Taskin
The evening match of the BPL yesterday saw very different fifties from Will Jacks and Taskin Ahmed. After Dhaka's Tamim Iqbal had taken apart Sylhet the other day, it was Jacks' turn to take apart the Sylhet attack yesterday as he hit a scintillating 19-ball 52, consequently the second fastest fifty in the BPL.
Taskin's fifty, however, did not have the same positive impact as it came in the form of runs conceded. In his first over, Taskin was hit by Jacks for a four and a six, with the batter coming out with a fantastic bit of invention, moving across the stumps to scoop the ball over fine-leg. In Taskin's next over, Jacks hit two more fours before he departed trying to play a ramp shot.
Taskin went for 13 and 22 in his third and fourth over respectively when he came in to bowl at the death. Thus, having conceded 53 runs, Taskin bowled his most expensive over in the BPL.
Imrul the off-spinner
Comilla Victorians captain Imrul Kayes is known for his batting but in yesterday's practice session at the MA Aziz stadium, he rolled his arm around in the nets, bowling to various Comilla batters. While Imrul never bowled in ODIs or T20Is, he did bowl in four Test matches till date, each time bowling one over of off-spin. The last time it happened was in 2015 at Fatullah against India.
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