Khulna Titans seal playoffs spot, eliminate Rangpur Riders with win over Dhaka Dynamites

A domineering stand between Mahmudullah and Benny Howell, complemented by a whirlwind knock from Hasanuzzaman, has guided Khulna Titans into the Bangladesh Premier League playoffs, eliminating Rangpur Riders in the process.

Mahmudullah and Howell blasted 44 off 21 balls for the fourth wicket to carve out a six-wicket victory in the must-win game against table-toppers Dhaka Dynamites at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on Sunday night.

Skipper Mahmudullah smashed 50 off 27 deliveries before departing eight runs shy of the 159-run target, thanks to a stunning catch by Tanveer Haider.

The Englishman remained unbeaten on 26 off 16 balls to complete the chase with two overs to spare.

Khulna also secured the second spot with the win as Rangpur bowed out with Dhaka, Khulna, Chittagong Vikings and Rajshahi Kings taking the top four spots.

Comilla Victorians and Barisal Bulls, champions and runners-up of the last edition, respectively, have already been eliminated.

Dhaka and Khulna, the top two teams, will now lock horns again in the first qualifier for a spot in the final.

Chittagong and Rajshahi, the third and fourth-placed teams, will face off against each other in the eliminator.

The losers of the first qualifier will take on the winners of the eliminator in qualifier two to claim the remaining spot in the final.

With the top spot already in the bag, Dhaka rested Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell and Sunzamul Islam for the last match of the tournament's pool phase on Sunday.

Asked to bat first, the home team posted 158-7 riding on a classy half-century from Kumar Sangakkara (59 off 41 balls) and smaller, yet significant, contributions from some of the others.

The former Sri Lanka captain was given a reprieve in the second over off Shuvagata Hom Chowdhury and he used his extra life to give his team a breezy start.

The left-hander cracked eight elegant boundaries while Mehedi Maruf (16) played second fiddle in a 58-run opening stand. Sangakkara pressed on after his partner perished and added 29 more with Nasir Hossain (19).

Howell then picked up the prized scalp of Sangakkara with one that kept low to smash into the stumps. Nasir also ran himself out two overs later but amid the tumbling wickets, Shakib Al Hasan (11), Seekkuge Prasanna (14) and Mosaddek Hossain (20) chipped in with the runs to post a fighting total.

Khulna lost opener Andre Fletcher early for 9 but his opening partner Hasanuzzaman smashed three sixes and as many fours to blast 40 off 19 balls and give them a good start.

The Titans reached 61-1 in 8.1 overs before Hasanuzzaman balooned up a slower to walk back.

Although Abdul Mazid snailed to 21 off 36 balls, he supported the opener in a 52-run second-wicket stand before adding 46 more with Mahmudullah.

But it was the skipper who turned the tides of the match. He milked five crisp boundaries and two huge sixes to take the ship near the coast. After he skied one in the covers, Howell carried his bat until the end.