Barisal secures dramatic win in Riyadh-Fahim storm

Riyadh and Fahim's fiery performance leads Barisal to a thrilling win.

Target 198 runs. 61 runs, 5 wickets missing. Winning a match in such a situation is not only difficult, but also quite difficult! However, Fortune Barisal did just that, why they are the defending champions and hot favorites, which was also seen in the Home of Cricket. Mahmudullah Riyad once again showed his old bone. And with the effective innings of two Pakistani stars Shaheen Shah Afridi and Fahim Ashraf, Barisal made an almost 'impossible' match easy and won.

Barisal defeated Rajshahi by 4 wickets yesterday in the opening match of the current BPL season. After losing the toss in Mirpur, they scored a big score of 197 runs batting first. Yasir scored 94 runs. Captain Bijoy scored 64 runs from the bat. In reply, Mahmudullah Riyad and Fahim Ashraf's stormy batting helped Barisal win with 11 balls in hand.

Barisal needed 78 runs to win with 5 wickets in the last 6 overs. In the 16th over, Fahim Ashraf started the storm by hitting Rajshahi spinner Hasan Murad for 3 consecutive sixes in the last 3 balls of the over. In the 16th over, Riyad's bat came with 2 fours and 1 six. In the next over, Fahim hit 3 more sixes and 1 four. In the end, Riyad scored 56 off 26 balls with 5 fours and 4 sixes. Fahim remained unbeaten on 57 off 21 balls with 7 sixes and 1 four.

Nazmul Hossain Shanto and captain Tamim Iqbal chased the runs in the first two overs. When Kyle Myers also returned in the fourth over, Barisal came under pressure.

Mushfiqur Rahim was dismissed in the 7th over, adding to the danger. Tawhid Hridoy could not extend his innings either (32 runs off 23 balls). After losing 5 wickets for 61 runs, Riyad and Shaheen took control. The two made a 51-run partnership. Shahin scored 27 runs off 17 balls with 3 sixes and 1 four. When he returned, Fahim came and was aggressive from the start. He started by hitting 3 sixes in the 15th over, then 3 sixes again in the 17th over. This ended the match quickly.

Earlier, Zisan Alam returned without scoring any runs at the beginning of Rajshahi's innings. Pakistani batter Mohammad Haris also returned a little later (13). From there, Yasir and Enamul took over. Rajshahi's total was 40/2 in the first 6 overs. Then, Bijoy and Yasir added another 122 runs in the last 10 overs. Bijoy completed his fifty off 42 balls. And Yasir completed his fifty off 35 balls. They scored 55 runs in the last 5 overs. After hitting four consecutive sixes in the 18th over, their 140-run partnership was broken when Bijoy was dismissed. Rajshahi captain scored 64 runs off 51 balls with 4 fours and 5 sixes. Yasir also had a chance to score a century. He hit 2 sixes and 1 four in the first 4 balls of the 19th over to take his total to 93 runs. But a single in the fifth ball ended his hopes of a century!