Khulna Tigers crush Sylhet Sunrisers

Khulna beat Sylhet by nine wickets at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka on Thursday. 

Khulna captain Mushfiqur Rahim said, “We have been playing good cricket but couldn't finish the game off. The bowlers were brilliant and the batting also clicked in the first six overs.”

Khulna Tigers made a mockery of the 143-run target. They adjusted to the conditions better and were also helped by some ordinary bowling and fielding. 

Andre Fletcher and Soumya Sarkar got off to a flier and there was no stopping them, especially Fletcher as he raced to a 33-ball fifty. 

Fletcher played an unbeaten innings of 71 runs from 47 balls. He hit five boundaries and the same number of maximums. He was named the Man of the Match.

Fletcher and Soumya added 99 in quick time and the match was decided by then, Thisara Perera came in and applied the finishing touches to the chase. Sylhet didn't have enough runs on the board and their bowling wasn't great either as there were plenty of freebies on offer. 

This defeat put them in a very precarious position in the tournament and almost leaves them with a must-win every game situation.

Sylhet skipper Mosaddek Hossein said, “It was not a 143 wicket. We recovered through Mithun and myself but it wasn't enough. If the foreign players are not performing then it is difficult for us. The bowling too hasn't been good and we have to have conversations regarding that.”

Earlier, Khulna Tigers won the toss and opted to bowl. Sylhet posted 142 after losing five wickets.

Mohammad Mithun was brilliant with the bat. He scored 72 off 51 with the help of six boundaries and four over-boundaries. Mosaddek scored 34, while the other couldn’t perform well.

For Khulna, Khaled Ahmed picked up two, while Nabil Samad, Kamrul Islam and Soumya claimed one wicket each.