Bangabandhu T20 Cup enters business end

The final four teams of the Bangabandhu T20 Cup are all set to battle it out for the title. 

Monday, during the afternoon game, Fortune Barishal will face Beximco Dhaka in the Eliminator at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. 

On the same day, the first two teams in the league table, Gazi Group Chattogram and Gemcon Khulna will lock horns in Qualifier 1.

Chattogram v Khulna

Undoubtedly, Chattogram have been the strongest force in the tournament. 

The port city side have come to the second round of the competition boosted with seven wins in eight matches. 

The victories for the youth-based side are consequences of balanced performances from both the batting and bowling departments.

While for Khulna, the story has been rather different. 

Despite being the most experienced side in the tournament, with names like Mahmudullah, Mashrafe bin Mortaza and Shakib al Hasan, results have not been overly satisfactory. 

They have won four in eight games and had to rely eventually on Barishal, who beat Dhaka Saturday, to finish in second position.

Inconsistent batting is a big drawback for Khulna and one of their experienced campaigners Imrul Kayes admitted the fact.

“We (Khulna) all are in happy mood at the moment as we have finished second in first round. We are playing the qualifiers and we will get two chances. Chattogram have defeated us twice and of course they have played better cricket than us. But we are looking forward to overcome the mistakes which we have done in the previous games. We have discussed those. I believe if we can make those areas right, we will be able to come back against them,” said the left-handed batsman to the media Sunday.

Imrul expects the team to make a turnaround going into the business end of the tournament and that the squad will play as per the expectation.

“Team-wise we have had high expectations in this tournament, that we will play the final and be one of the top contenders for the championship. Expectation will remain because of the squad that we have. Honestly we have not been able to play cricket to our ability yet but as you know in T20 a good game can change the table. Big players play well in big matches so we will look forward to that,” said Imrul.

Barishal v Dhaka

Both Dhaka and Barishal have been teams looked down upon ahead of the tournament. 

But sheer will to put up a fight in the competition has taken the teams forward towards the business stages.

Prior to the tournament, Barishal were considered one of the weakest teams. 

But strong leadership from captain Tamim Iqbal and the players chipping in when required earned them three wins in the first round, taking them past Minister Group Rajshahi. 

Barishal picked up their third win Saturday defeating Dhaka by just two runs.

For Dhaka, the story has also been a mixed bag. 

The capital city side started the competition with three straight defeats but bounced back hard with four consecutive wins. 

Dhaka had the shot on finishing in top two but were denied by Barishal.

The two teams face each other again with a day’s break and Dhaka coach Khaled Mahmud is looking at it as a good opportunity.

“We have played Barishal twice before, won once and lost in one game. They are a very good side. We would have been under pressure if we had lost against them by a big margin. But that did not happen as we lost by just two runs. The way we batted in the chase, especially Mohammad Naim and Yasir Ali, I think the team are confident. It will be easy for us to plan given we are playing Barishal again,” said Mahmud to the media.

Former Bangladesh captain Mahmud, now also a Bangladesh Cricket Board director, believes a tournament like the Bangabandhu T20 Cup has been a plus for the local players to showcase their ability.

The former all-rounder said the domestic players will benefit a lot if the tournament is held regularly.

“This tournament had the purpose (of highlighting the local cricketers). Almost all games have been exciting. Players from whom we did not expect much have performed. Like for Saif [Hasan], it was said that he cannot bat in T20. But the way he has been batting has proved many wrong. Say for [Robiul Islam] Robi, if this tournament was BPL [Bangladesh Premier League T20] and had overseas cricketers, he would not get the chance to play at all.

“It is a big sign that our players are getting to play, bat at their places. If we can continue with this tournament I believe we will be able to find some good young cricketers in the next three-four years, the players that can help us win matches in international cricket,” Mahmud explained.