Taskin, Soumya end Dhaka’s winless streak

Taskin Ahmed’s four-wicket haul after Soumya Sarkar's fifty helped Dhaka Dominators end their six-match winless streak with a dramatic 24-run victory against Khulna Tigers in a low-scoring match in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2023 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on Tuesday.

Taskin claimed 4-9 in 3.3 overs while skipper Nasir Hossain and Al-Amin Hossain took a couple of wickets each as Dhaka bundled out Khulna for a mere 84 in 15.3 overs.

Earlier, off-spinner Nahidul Islam claimed the best figures in the ongoing BPL, 4-6, to bowl out Dhaka for 108 in 19.4 overs.

Dhaka’s innings would’ve folded for a much lower total if it wasn’t for Soumya’s 57 off 45 balls.

Khulna, chasing a meagre target of 109, made a decent start with opener Tamim Iqbal making 30 off 23 balls.

Nasir dismissed Tamim right after the powerplay, but still Khulna were cruising to the target till the halfway stage, reaching 58-3 after 10 overs.

However, things started getting difficult for Khulna after Taskin removed Azam Khan (four) and their skipper Yasir Ali fell to Irshad Ali for 21 off 24 balls.

Still, Khulna were in the driving seat, as they had five wickets in hand and the required rate was below six runs per over.

But in just 11 deliveries, Khulna lost their final five wickets and suffered a dramatic defeat.

The collapse started when Amir Hamza removed Amad Butt for seven in the penultimate ball of the 14th over.

Al-Amin then rattled Nahidul’s (five) stumps and induced a catch from Nasum’s (four) bat in the 15th over, to reduce them to 84-8 after 15 overs.

Taskin then landed the final blow, striking twice in space of three deliveries to ensure a victory for Dhaka.

Earlier, Khulna took charge of the match early on thanks to Nahidul after asking Dhaka to bat first.

Nahidul came on the attack in the second over and bowled four overs on the trot. He started with a double wicket maiden, dismissing Mizanur Rahman (one) and Usman Ghani (0).

He then bowled another maiden over and took the wickets of Mohammad Mithun (0) and Alex Blake (three) to leave Dhaka teetering on 38-4.

Opener Soumya was the lone exception in the Dhaka innings as the opener finally found some runs after a lean run.

Soumya hit six fours and two sixes in the innings that announced his return to form. But other than him, none of the other recognised batters of the Dhaka line-up managed to get into double figures.

Soumya’s innings ended when left-arm spinner Nasum, who finished with 3-11, broke through his defences in the 15th over.

Dhaka’s tailenders then somehow pushed their total beyond 100, which in the end, proved sufficient.

Despite the win, Dhaka are still languishing at the bottom of the seven-team points-table with two wins in eight matches.

Interestingly, both of Dhaka’s wins in the tournament have come against Khulna.

Khulna’s position remained unchanged at fifth with two wins in six games.