Fortune Barishal 152 for 4 (Mushfiqur 47*, Mayers 28, Hider 2-37) beat Rangpur Riders 149 for 7 (Shamim 59*, Neesham 28, Fuller 3-25) by six wickets
Fortune Barishal will meet Comilla Victorians in the BPL final on Friday after trouncing Rangpur Riders by six wickets in the second qualifier at a packed Shere Bangla National Stadium. Mushfiqur Rahim shepherded their 150-run chase with an unbeaten 47 after Mohammad Saifuddin and James Fuller kept Rangpur in check.
Only Shamim Hossain's unbeaten 59 off 24 kept Rangpur in the game before Mushfiqur and Kyle Mayers ensured a mostly risk-free chase for Barishal.
It was Mohammad Saifuddin who struck two important blows as early as the second over of the Rangpur innings. He removed Mahedi Hasan with a full, outswinging delivery, before Shakib Al Hasan's hack across the line took the upper edge with wicketkeeper Mushfiqur pouching both catches safely.
Rony Talukdar was caught at the deep square-leg boundary after scratching around for eleven balls, before Nicholas Pooran holed out to Soumya Sarkar running in from long-on off Mehidy Hasan Miraz. James Neesham got out the very next ball to Fuller leaving Rangpur struggling at 48 for five. Fuller then dismissed Mohammad Nabi and Nurul Hasan in the 15th over to press home Barishal's advantage.
At 77 for seven, there was little hope of Rangpur recovering. Shamim had other ideas, though. He played a switch-hit off Mehidy in the 16th over to get himself going, before pasting Obed McCoy for 36 off his last eight balls. Twenty-six of those came in the penultimate over - Shamim first swatted him over deep third with a switch-hit before pulling one over short fine leg for four. He then played the pick-up shot over midwicket before miscuing a scoop over the wicketkeeper's head for a six. He finished the over with an expansive cover drive that brought up his 20-ball fifty, his first of the season.
Abu Hider rocked Barishal's chase in the fourth over by removing Tamim Iqbal and Mehidy in the space of three balls. Tamim, after hitting the left-arm quick for a four, struck one straight to mid-off. Hider then trapped Mehidy lbw for eight. Soumya and Mushfiqur steadied things with a 47-run third-wicket stand. Soumya struck a six and two fours before Mohammad Nabi had him stumped for 22.
Kyle Mayers then hammered 28 off 15 balls that had three sixes and a four. One of those sixes was his famed back-foot punch six, this time off Fazalhaq Farooqi shortly before he holed out. Mayers' burst brought down Barishal's chase to less than a run a ball, following which David Miller (22 off 18 balls) and Mushfiqur combined for a 33-run stand to seal the win with nine balls remaining.
