Shakib, Shahriar, Bravo lead Barishal to victory

Gayle chipped in with a 45-ball 51 as well as Sylhet were shut out of the BPL playoff race

Fortune Barishal 199 for 4 (Gayle 51*, Munim 51, Nazmul 1-14) beat Sylhet Sunrisers 187 for 6 (Ingram 90, Mosaddek 34, Shanto 2-2) by 12 runs

How the match played out

The win solidified Barishal’s position on top of the table with 13 points from nine games. Sylhet remain rooted at the bottom after their sixth defeat in eight outings.

Big hit

Shakib continued the run-spree with his 19-ball 38, hitting four sixes over midwicket, backward square leg and wide long-off. All this time, Gayle bided his time at the other end, playing a supporting role. He struck his first six in the 16th over, and although he went on to score a fifty, it was Dwayne Bravo towards the end who did actual damage. Bravo struck four sixes, one sliced off Shiraz Ahmed, and the others conventional over long-off and wide long-on.

The left-handed Ingram gave Sylhet a brilliant start by hitting ten fours in the powerplay overs, the most by any batter this season. Six of those fours were off the usually economical Mujeeb Ur Rahman.

Ingram reached his second BPL fifty in no time, as he crashed Mehedi Hasan Rana for 21 runs in the 10th over. He struck four boundaries, all along the carpet on the offside, bringing down the required run-rate below ten for the first and only time, in the chase.

But a combination of Shakib, Bravo, Ziaur Rahman and Shanto made all the difference for Barishal.

Big miss

Sylhet leaked a lot of runs, mainly due to left-arm quick Shiraz who had an outing to forget. He conceded 56 runs in four wicketless overs. The Barishal batters took a liking to his pace, it seemed, hitting him for five sixes and three fours. It is the worst bowling figures in the BPL this season, beating Taskin Ahmed’s 1 for 53 from four overs. In his second game for Sylhet, Shiraz remains without a wicket in the tournament.

Mujeeb also had an off-day, giving away 40 runs in four wicketless overs. It was rare to see the mystery bowler go for so many, with Ingram hitting him for six fours in the powerplay. Some of the fours were streaky, but Mujeeb was certainly knocked off his length by the left-hander.