That brings an end to our coverage for this game. This is Akshay Bhide, signing off, on behalf of my co-commentator Megh Mandaliya and scorer Ghanendra Singh Thakur. Until next time, cheers and goodbye.
Yasir Ali (Khulna Tigers Captain): "Yes, a sigh of relief. It was the first win for us and the environment will be much more positive now. Wahab Riaz was excellent and when seniors like him perform, it makes it easier for the others. Tamim Iqbal played really well and he also guided Hasan in the middle."
Wahab Riaz (Player of the Match):"The wicket was a bit slow but we had to bowl on the right areas. We watched games at this venue and decided to bowl stumps to stumps. We are bowling well but didn't get the desired results. You need momentum and lost a few games at the start which is not an ideal start but happy to get a win and it will help us peak at the right moment."
Wahab Riaz is named the Player of the Match.
Shoaib Malik (Rangpur Riders Captain): "Yes, there were not enough runs on the board. But when you play at such a slow surface, the goal has to be to rotate the strike at regular intervals, and that did not happen from our end. Credit also goes to Tamim, he played really well today. We will bounce back surely."
04:31 PM IST | Akshay: That’s it. Mahmudul Hasan Joy finishes things in style. A well-composed knock from him along with Tamim Iqbal sees Khulna Tigers chase down 130 with 10 balls to spare. They beat the Rangpur Riders by nine wickets to register their first win of the Bangladesh Premier League 2023.
Chasing 130, the Tigers got off to a decent start. Experienced campaigner Tamim Iqbal along with Munim Shahriar played some good shots up front. They both put 41 between them before Shahriar was dismissed in the last over of the powerplay. Mahmudul Hasan Joy joined Tamim and both started building the partnership.
Tamim was going nicely from one end and was well-supported by Joy from the other end. Tamim played some beautiful strokes and there was no stopping him as he brought up his maiden fifty of this edition of BPL. The Riders failed to pick up wickets as Tamim and Joy remained unbeaten on 60 and 38 to take their side across the line with 10 balls to spare.
Earlier, the Khulna Tigers opted to bowl first and had a very good start. They picked up two quick wickets and restricted the Riders to 35/2 at the end of the powerplay. Mahedi Hasan, coming in at four, held the innings nicely for the Riders but lacked support from the other end. They kept losing wickets at regular intervals.
Mahedi looked good for his 38 but fell in the 17th over while trying to up the ante. A lack of contribution from the lower-order batters resulted in them getting knocked over on 129 on the last ball of the 20th over. Wahab Riaz was the pick of the bowlers for the Tigers. He finished with figures of 4/14 in his four overs. Amad Butt also bowled beautifully and picked up three scalps. Their batters then stepped up to chase down the total comfortably. Stick around for the post-match presentation.
18.2 A Omarzai to M Hasan
6 SIXXX! THAT'S IT! Hasan has finished the proceedings with a huge maximum. Khulna Tigers finally open their account and it has been a comprehensive victory for them. Back of a length and on the top of middle and off, Hasan swivels and whacks that over deep mid-wicket as the ball sails over the fence. The Tigers win by 9 wickets and Iqbal gives Hasan a little pat on the back.
18.1 A Omarzai to T Iqbal
1 Good length and outside off, Iqbal opens the face and guides that to sweeper cover for a single to start the over.