Fortune Barishal reach BPL final

Fortune Barishal beat Chittagong Kings by nine wickets to reach the final of Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Monday.

Riding on an impressive performance by Pakistani pacer Mohammad Ali and local batter Towhid Hridoy, reigning champions Fortune Barishal booked their place.

Ali, who made his maiden BPL appearance, finished with a career-best performance of 5-24 after Kyle Mayers, who reached Dhaka in the morning after finishing his ILT20 stint, gave initial breakthroughs that helped Barishal limit Chittagong to 149-9 in 20 overs.

In reply, Barishal's chase was calculated. While captain Tamim Iqbal adopted a cautious approach, Hridoy accelerated the scoring rate. However, Tamim could not convert his start into a substantial innings, departing for 29 off 26 balls, including four boundaries. He fell to a pull shot off Khaled Ahmed, caught by Khawaja Nafay at 55/1. Thereafter, Hridoy and Malan put together an unbeaten 95-run stand off 52 deliveries to guide Barishal home in 17.2 overs with 16 balls to spare.

With this resounding victory, Fortune Barishal have booked their place in the final, while Chittagong Kings must regroup quickly for their last chance at redemption in the second qualifier against Khulna Tigers.