Fortune Barishal Friday inflicted an eight-wicket defeat upon Minister Group Dhaka to leave the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 2022 playoff hopes of the capital city outfit hanging in the balance.
Barishal ended their group phase campaign with 15 points from 10 matches, and will take on Comilla Victorians in the first qualifier at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
It is rightly being billed as a high-octane clash between the two most impressive sides thus far, with former Tigers coach Steve Rhodes and head coach Mohammad Salahuddin in the Victorians dugout up against Shakib al Hasan's Barishal, coached by Khaled Mahmud.
The loser will get a second chance to progress to the grand finale in qualifier two where they face the winner of the eliminator.
The power-studded Dhaka meanwhile, finished their group stage with nine points from 10 games, and will hope results go their way Saturday if Mahmudullah and Co are to seal a playoff spot.
Dhaka will be counting on a Sylhet Sunrisers victory against Chattogram Challengers, who have eight points from nine matches, or a win for Comilla over Khulna Tigers - the other playoff contender with eight points from nine games.
Defending a below-par 128/9, Dhaka, despite taking the early wicket of the dangerous Chris Gayle (seven), never really caused Barishal any real trouble as opener Munim Shahriar (37 off 25) continued his purple patch in BPL 2022.
No 3 Nazmul Hossain Shanto (run-a-ball 28) and captain Shakib (51* off 29 balls) then saw Barishal home with 27 balls to spare, the ace all-rounder claiming a stunning fifth consecutive player of the match award.
What was supposed to be a dot delivery in the last ball of the 10th over went for four when mid off fielder Rubel Hossain allowed the leather to go under his body after a simple Shanto push off seamer Shafiul Islam.
Dhaka's body language was down at that point, and their fate was sealed in the 12th over when Afghan pacer Azmatullah Omarzai went for 23 runs.
Their batting earlier was no better as only opener Tamim Iqbal (66 off 50) and all-rounder Shuvagata Hom (21 off 27) reached double digit.