Robiul’s five-fer sinks Khulna
Beximco Dhaka’s spinner Robiul Islam Robi’s five-wicket haul against Gemcon Khulna earns his team a 20-run victory in the Bangabandhu T20 Cup match at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Thursday.
With this win Beximco Dhaka, have now confirmed their berth in the semi-finals spot of the tourney. Dhaka are currently in the third spot on the five-team tourney table, with eight points from four wins in the seven games they played. This is also their fourth consecutive win after a dismal start in the tournament.
Man of the match Robi was on fire against Khulna with the ball. Chasing a challenging total of 180, Khulna’s batsmen had no answer of Robi’s spin wizardry. He started off by grabbing the wicket of batsman Zakir Hasan in his very first over. After that, he picked up the pivotal wicket of ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and then batsman Ariful Haque. In the final over of the match, he wrapped up his fifer with wickets of pacer Shohidul Islam and spinner Nazmul Islam Apu. The 30-year-old right-arm spinner ended with figures of 27/5 in 3.3 overs. This helped Dhaka to bundle Khulna out for 159.
Chasing a stern total of 179, Khulna’s opener Jahurul Islam played a good knock of 36-ball 53, with 4 boundaries and 2 maximums. Despite that, his team couldn’t grind a result out of the match as other batsmen failed to put any significant contribution. Other than Jahurul, only three other Khulna batsmen were able to reach the double-digit mark.
Khulna’s Shamim Hossain, played a cameo innings of 24 off just 9 deliveries, which comprised of 2 boundaries and 2 maximums. However, Khulna lacked partnerships in the middle and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. As a result, they succumbed to their fourth defeat in the tournament. The Mahmudullah Riyad-led side had however already confirmed their playoff spot earlier.
Earlier, Dhaka got off to a blistering start after being sent to bat first. Youngster opener Mohammad Naim Sheikh, hit ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan for four maximums in his very first over. This laid the foundation for a big score. Along with Sabbir Rahman, Naim enjoyed a 41-run opening stand. Naim was then dismissed after playing a quick-fire 17-ball 36, which comprised of 5 maximums.
Sabbir however kept going and picked up his first half century of the tourney. Before departing in the 17th over, Sabbir struck a 38-ball 56, with 5 boundaries and 3 maximums, which helped his team to post a challenging total of 179/7.
