He looks certain to be named in Australia's squad for the World Cup in West Indies and the United States
Rajshahi beat Khulna by 21 runs to clinch Bangabandhu BPL
Rajshahi Royals have claimed their maiden Bangladesh Premier League title with a 21-run win over Khulna Tigers in the special edition of the tournament named after Bangabandhu on his birth centenary.
Published : 17 Jan 2020, 05:17 PM
Updated : 17 Jan 2020, 06:36 PM
Shafiul Islam hit a four off the last ball of Rajshahi captain Andre Russell to take Khulna’s score to 149 for 8 but they had already lost one wicket in the final over requiring 30 runs for the victory at the packed Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on Friday.
Khulna lost openers Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mehidy Hasan Miraz in the first two overs but Shamsur Rahman’s half-century and Rilee Rossouw’s 37 off 26 kept them in the chase until Mohammad Nawaz broke the 71-run partnership by sending back Rossouw.
Kamrul Islam Rabbi then put Khulna in trouble by taking the wickets of Shamsur and Najibullah Zadran in his back-to-back overs.
The match still hung in balance until Khulna lost captain Mushfiqur Rahim (21 off 15) in the 18th over. It was his first final of the tournament.
Sent to bat first, Rajshahi posted 170 for 4 thanks to an unbeaten 71-run partnership between Russell (27 off 16) and Mohammad Nawaz (41 off 20).
Russell shone with the ball as well, taking the crucial wicket when Khulna was 35 runs away from the target with 13 balls in hand.
Irfan Sukkur smashed a half-century to give Rajshahi a strong base for the challenging target with a 49-run stand with Liton Das (25 off 28) and a 31-run partnership with Shoaib Malik (9 off 13).
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