Minister Group Rajshahi 147 for 4 (Shanto 55, Rony 26, Rishad 2-34) beat Gemcon Khulna 146 for 6 (Ariful 41, Shamim 35, Mukidul 2-44) by six wickets
Minister Group Rajshahi made it two wins out of two with their six-wicket win over Gemcon Khulna. Their captain Najmul Hossain Shanto‘s burst in the powerplay, which saw him hitting his first half-century of the Bangabandhu T20 Cup, clinched the game for Rajshahi.
Shanto struck three sixes and six fours in his 34-ball 55, as he added 47 runs for the second wicket with Rony Talukdar, who struck a six and three fours in his 26. Shanto fell in the 11th over, lbw to legspinner Rishad Hossain, but Mohammad Ashraful and Fazle Mahmud took them towards the target, before Nurul Hasan got them home with 2.4 overs to spare.
Rishad took two wickets while Al-Amin Hossain, who bowled just two overs, and Shahidul Islam took one wicket each.
Khulna made 146 for 6 after a late boost of runs from Ariful Haque, the hero of their opening-day win over Fortune Barishal. Ariful slammed two sixes in the penultimate over, in which young pace bowler Mukidul Islam went for 17 runs after bowling three wide balls at the start of the over. Ariful and Shahidul Islam added 42 runs for the unbroken seventh wicket, which spruced up Khulna’s innings that was mostly lackluster.
Opener Imrul Kayes was the first to go, caught at short fine-leg after mistiming a sweep off Mahedi Hasan. Shakib Al Hasan, too, got caught playing across the line against Mukidul, at deep square-leg in the fifth over.
The Khulna innings unravelled further when Anamul Haque, having made 26 with three fours and a six, was run out in the eighth over. Jahurul Islam and captain Mahmudullah fell in the next two overs respectively, as they slipped to 51 for five in the tenth over. Young left-hander Shamim Hossain revived the innings somewhat, with a 25-ball 35 that had three fours and two sixes. He fell to Ebadat Hossain’s bouncer shortly after hitting his second six, leaving Ariful to play out the last 4.5 overs with the tail.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo