The first of Friday’s double-header saw the Rajshahi Kings beat the Sylhet Sixers by 7 wickets.
It was the Kings who won the toss and decided to bowl, striking in the first over with Mohammad Sami accounting for Andre Fletcher for a duck. Fellow-opener Upul Tharanga was bowled by Mehidy Hassan for 10, the same score amassed by Nurual Hasan before he was caught off the bowling of Kesrick Williams.
At the other end, Danushka Gunathilaka hit 40, including 2 sixes, before falling to James Franklin. However, it was the sixth-wicket partnership between Sabbir Rahman and Tim Bresnan that gave the Sixers’ innings some momentum, with the pair blasting 69 off just six overs, with Rahman top-scoring with 41, off just 26 balls, including 4 sixes.
He was out just before the end of the innings with Bresnan (29 not-out) and fellow Englishman, Liam Plunkett, seeing them close on 146/6.
The Kings, in reply, got off to a strong start, with Mominul Haque and Rony Talukdar putting on 65 for the first wicket, before Talukdar fell to Nasir Hossain for 24. Samir Patel went cheaply for one, and Haque went for 42 off the bowling of Abul Hasan, but then Zakir Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim came together. The pair shared an unbroken stand of 53 to see the Kings home with 15 balls to spare, Hasan top-scoring with 51, which included 3 sixes, and Rahim unbeaten on 25.
In the second match, the Khulna Titans won and toss and again chose to bowl in their clash with the Chittagong Vikings.
The Titans enjoyed a good start as Luke Ronchi was caught off the bowling of Abu Jayed, but a 95-run partnership for the Vikings’ second wicket between Soumya Sarkar and Anamal Haque put them in a strong position.
Sarkar fell to Mahmudullah for 32, and Haque, after top-scoring with 62 (including 3 sixes and 5 fours), became the second of Jayed’s three wickets. However, a late dash for runs led by Najibullah Zadran (24) and Stiaan van Zyl (23 not out) saw the Vikings post what seemed to be a competitive total of 160/5.
In reply the Titans lost Michael Klinger to Sunzamul Islam for just a single. Rilee Rossouw hit a quick fire 49 (including 3 sixes, and 5 fours), before Al-Amin bowled him, with Dhiman Gosh suffering a similar fate at the hands of Sikandar Raza.
However, captain Mahmudallh steadied the batting with an unbeaten 48, which included one six. Although Nazmul Hossain Shanto fell for just 9, Ariful Haque hit a rapid 34, including 3 sixes, and then Carlos Braithwaite came in at the end to smash 10 off just two balls, helping the Titans to their victory target with 10 balls to spare.