Sylhet Strikers ended their group stage with a victory

Sylhet Strikers win
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Sylhet Strikers qualified for the top four, staying at the top of the table. Today, they played their last group match at Sher-e-Bangla Stadium against Khulna Tigers, where the Strikers secured a victory by six wickets.

Match Report

Shai Hope, the captain of the Khulna Tigers, won the toss and decided to bat first. Therefore, Munim Shahriar and Andrew Balbirnie came into the crease to start the innings for Khulna. But both openers failed to contribute much to the team.

Khulna Tigers lost their first wicket in the 2nd over as Pakistani all-rounder Imad Wasim picked him up for Sylhet Strikers. After that, Andrew Balbirnie tried to play defensive cricket along with Shai Hope. Together they picked up 13 runs on the scoreboard.

But despite being so defensive, Khulna Tigers couldn’t keep their batters between the pitch for a long time. Khulna Tigers lost two more wickets between 5 to 6 overs. As a result, they became three wickets down in 21 runs.

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Strikers spinner Imad Wasim was very economical today against The Tigers. He gave only ten runs in four overs. Moreover, he picked up two wickets of Khulna Tigers. However, Mahmudul Hasan Joy tried hard to make a good score for Khulna. He scored the highest 41 runs for the team, which helped Khulna end their innings with 113 runs.

Chasing the small target, Sylhet Strikers also failed to get a good start. The two openers, Towhid Hridoy and Najmul Hasan, failed to score 10 runs combined.

Towhid Hridoy lost his wicket to Mohammad Saifuddin in the 2nd over, while Najmul Hossain departed the crease in the 3rd over. It seemed Khulna Tigers could tie them up before touching the target. But Zakir Hossain and Mushfiqur Rahim changed the momentum entirely. The two batters took all the responsibilities and made a fantastic partnership of 90 runs.

Mushfique was close to getting a half-century but had to leave the crease after being run out in 39 runs. However, Zakir Hossain didn’t miss the chance and scored 50 runs before leaving the pitch in the 16th over.

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However, the rest was easy for Ryan Burl and Gulbadin Naib. Relying on their bats, Sylhet Strikers won the match by 6 wickets within 18 overs.