Malan steers Barishal to fifth win

Dawid Malan had been watching this BPL from the sidelines and before today, he had appeared in just one game. The chase of Chittagong Kings' 121 for eight did not appear to be a steep one at first, but after Tamim Iqbal was run out following a confusion with the Englishman, the pressure was on Malan.

He, however, took that pressure head on amidst regular fall of wickets at the top to secure Barishal's fifth win of the tournament with six wickets in hand and 19 balls to spare.

Barishal slumped early, losing Tamim to a run-out after a 14-ball eight. Towhid Hridoy (1) drove one straight to cover off Khaled Ahmed to see Chittagong put the pressure on and when Mushfiqur Rahim (11) departed to a reverse-sweep, caught at short third-man off Arafat Sunny, the game was on.

Malan, with great understanding of the conditions, bided his time and accelerated soon after Mahmudullah's (16) dismissal had left Barishal reeling at 53 for four.

In the end, Malan's fifty and Mohammad Nabi's 21-ball 26 saw Barishal cruise to the target.

Earlier, Faheem Ashraf, Ripon Mondol and Tanvir Islam kept Chittagong to just 121 for eight, the second-lowest score by a team batting first in this BPL.

Ripon picked up the wickets of Usman Khan and Graham Clark early. Faheem then got in on the act, picking up Parvez Hossain Emon, Haider Ali and Shamim Hossain in the Powerplay, leaving Chittagong tottering at 39 for five. Despite Mohammad Mithun's 34-ball 35, Chittagong never really looked set for a competitive score. Sunny's rearguard 34-ball 27 ensured the hosts got something to bowl at.