Zakir Hasan continued his blazing form in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) T20 to help Sylhet Strikers beat Khulna Tigers by eight runs in Sylhet on Sunday (Jan 12), registering their successive victory in the tournament after beginning campaign with three defeats on the trot.
Zakir's unbeaten 75 off 46 balls knock featured three fours and six sixes, and it was his third fifty in the ongoing edition, while Rony Talukdar also struck 56 off 44 balls. Aaron Jones (six-ball 20) and Ariful Haque (13-ball 21 not out) hit decent cameos to lift them to 182-5 in 20 overs after being asked to bat first at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.
Khulna, in reply, were reduced to 47-3 after the powerplay before William Bosisto (43 off 40) and Mehedi Hasan Miraz (15) added 34 runs for the fourth wicket.
Both batters departed in quick succession, but Khulna's Pakistani all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz smashed a few quick boundaries to keep them in the contest.
Nawaz was finally dismissed for 33 off 18 balls by pacer Tanzim Hasan Sakib (2-45), and there was a heated exchange of words between Nawaz and Tanzim after the latter made aggressive body contact with Nawaz following the dismissal.
Needing 19 runs to win off the final over, Khulna's bowling all-rounder Abu Hider Rony smashed two boundaries after Mahidul Islam Ankon (28 off 16) took a single to make the equation 10 from the last three deliveries.
Sylhet pacer Ruyel Miah (2-28) then dismissed Hider (14 off six balls), while Mahidul was run out on the next ball, sealing the fate of the contest. Khulna managed 174-9, tasting their second consecutive defeat in the meet. Reece Topley also claimed two wickets for Sylhet.
Earlier, despite losing two early wickets, Zakir and Rony shared a 106-run partnership for the third wicket to set a solid platform for a big finish.
Sylhet lost a few quick wickets in the middle overs, being reduced to 150-5 before skipper Ariful's brilliant innings took their score beyond the 180-run mark.
