Left-arm pacer Mehedi Hasan Rana ran havoc in the death over against Khulna Tigers to get Fortune Barishal their second win in the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20.
Defending a moderate 142 runs, Barishal restricted Khulna on 124 all-out with an over to spare in Chittagong's Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium Saturday.
Defending the target, Barishal bowling attack were on point dismissing Khulna openers Andre Fletcher and Soumya Sarkar early.
Mushfiqur Rahim from the middle took charge while others chipped in as Khulna were seemingly cruising towards the shore.
The effort however, fell short following a lower-order debacle in the business end of the game with Rana in the limelight.
Bowling the 19th over with Khulna needing another 20 off 12 balls, Rana removed three batters including Mushfiq for 40 off 36.
Mushfiq’s effort was put in vain by his fellow batters.
The job could simply have been given to the veteran right-handed batter to go for shots rather than going after ambitious strokes themselves, resulting in the fall of wickets.
Rana finished with career best four for 17 in three overs.
Earlier, Barishal were invited to bat first as the self proclaimed Universe Boss Chris Gayle posted a 34-ball 45 to propel the side to defendable 141 for nine after 20 overs.
Despite being a good track to bat on, Barishal were held back by the lack of partnerships with only three other batters scoring in double figure.
Towhid Hridoy’s 12-ball 23 laced with two boundaries was the second best in the innings.
Khulna bowlers had pulled up a joint effort as the bowlers picked up at least one scalp.
Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Thisera Perera and Farhad Reza bagged two wickets apiece.
Both Khulna and Barishal now have two wins under their belt in four games.
