Chittagong were all but out but fought back in a see-sawing contest
Mohammad Isam05-Feb-2025Al Islam’s last-ball four, that too a classic cover drive, took Chittagong Kings to the BPL final. In an absolute see-saw battle, Aliss came back after injuring himself earlier in the last over, to hit the winning boundary and beat Khulna Tigers by two wickets in the second qualifier.Islam was unbeaten on 17 off seven balls, with two fours and a six, to take the Chittagong franchise into their second BPL final. They will face defending champions, and favourites, Fortune Barishal at the Shere Bangla National Stadium on Friday.Chasing Khulna’s 163 for 6, Chittagong were all but out of the contest before Aliss got them back with his surprise cameo. Earlier, Khulna were powered by Shimron Hetmyer’s 63 to reach 163 for 6 in 20 overs. They went at less than six runs an over for the first 16 overs.Aliss the KingChittagong’s batting order, that lacked depth, was left exposed when tail-ender Khaled Ahmed walked in to bat at No 7. They slipped from 105 for 2 to 130 for 7 between overs 13 and 17. Arafat Sunny and Aliss then added 26 runs, with both hitting a couple of boundaries each.When Aliss slipped in the last over, he hurt his ankle. Shoriful Islam walked in, inside edged a boundary. But he fell next ball, and Chittagong’s players put on Aliss’ pads for him and he walked out again. He smashed Musfik Hasan for a boundary and sparked huge celebrations.Nafay powers ChittagongChittagong lost two of their big-hitters early in the chase. Parvez Hossain Emon holed out to mid-on before Graham Clark, smarting from a blow to the nose while fielding, missing a straight one from Hasan Mahmud. Khawaja Nafay though kept the run rate at a fair clip with this combination of quick singles and no-look clips on the leg side. He added 70 runs for the third wicket with Hussain Talat, fresh off his great form in the Champions T20 Cup (Pakistan’s domestic T20 competition) recently.The Pakistani pair relied a lot on rotating the strike but just when the boundaries dried up, Talat struck the big ones. He made 40 off 25 balls with five fours and a six, while Nafay reached his second half-century for the season, as Chittagong looked to be sailing smoothly.Nasum double sparks a collapseTalat swung Nasum towards the deep-square-leg boundary in the 13th over, only to be caught in the boundary. It sparked a collapse as Shamim Hossain also top edged Nasum in his next over, before Musfik accounted for Nafay. The set batter couldn’t get going after reaching his fifty, missing on a lap shot against the fast bowler. He removed Khaled later in the over, before the Chittagong captain Mohammad Mithun top edged Hasan Mahmud in the 17th over.Chittagong apply the squeezeEarlier in the evening, Khulna didn’t get going with the bat for a long time. They lost captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz in the third over when Binura Fernando got one to scissor through him. Islam then had Alex Ross caught and bowled in the following over, before Khaled Ahmed, Chittagong’s best bowler, removed Mohammad Naim, Khulna’s best batter, for 19.Afif Hossain also couldn’t resuscitate Khulna, making just 8 off 14 balls, before holing out in the deep in the ninth over. Chittagong applied the squeeze and then some, keeping Khulna from hitting boundaries for more than six overs. Aliss completed his four overs during this period, going for just 14 runs. Hetmyer, at the crease, didn’t help matters, as they meandered to 92 for four at the end of the 16th over.Hetmyer does his thingWith their backs to their wall, Khulna really needed a boost at this stage of their innings. Mahidul Islam Ankon, who had hit the two sixes in the innings thus far, slammed Khaled before Hetmyer got two sixes to take 23 off the 17th over. Shoriful removed Mahidul first ball next over, but Hetmyer still found two fours in the over. Fernando, who had given away just six runs in his first three overs, then came into Hetmyer’s crosshairs. The left-hander struck him for two fours and two sixes in his first four balls, before falling off the last ball. Hetmyer had arrived for Khulna just before the eliminator match against Rangpur, having just played in the ILT20.Mohammad Nawaz and Jason Holder cobbled together 17 runs in the final over, to give Khulna the much-needed boost. They made 71 off the last four overs to finish on 163 for 6, but it wasn’t enough.
