Fortune Barishal beat Chittagong Kings to defend BPL title
Barishal captain Tamim bags the Player of the Match for his match-winning half-century
MIRPUR: Skipper Tamim Iqbal’s quickfire half-century powered Fortune Barishal to beat Chittagong Kings by three wickets and successfully defend their Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) title here at the Shere Bangla National Stadium on Friday.
Put into bat first, the Kings registered a formidable total of 194/3 on the board, courtesy of brisk half-centuries by their openers Khawaja Nafay and Parvez Hossain Emon.
The duo gave the Kings a commanding start by putting together 121 runs for the first-wicket stand, which culminated with Nafay’s dismissal in the 13th over.
The in-form batter smashed seven fours and three sixes on his way to a 44-ball 66.
Emon was then involved in another crucial partnership for the Kings when he added 70 runs for the second wicket with Graham Clark.
Clark, who got run out on the second delivery of the final over, scored 44 off 23 deliveries with the help of two fours and three sixes.
Emon, on the other hand, carried his bat all the through and scored an unbeaten 78 off 49 deliveries, comprised of six fours and four sixes.
For Barishal, Ebadot Hossain and Mohammad Ali could pick up a wicket apiece.
Chasing a daunting 195-run target, the defending champions knocked the winning runs for the loss of seven wickets and three balls to spare, thanks to blistering knocks by their captain Tamim and middle-order batter Kyle Mayers.
Tamim remained the top-scorer for Barishal in the final with a 29-ball 54, studded with nine fours and a six.
He was also involved in an important 76-run partnership for the first wicket with Towhid Hridoy, who made 32 off 28.
All-rounder Mayers was the other notable run-getter for Barishal as he scored a blistering 46 off 28 deliveries, hitting three boundaries and as many sixes.
Number eight batter Rishad Hossain gave the final touches to the run chase with a sensational cameo, which paved the way for Fortune Barishal to defend their BPL title.
Hossain scored an unbeaten 18 off six deliveries with the help of two sixes.
Shoriful Islam was the standout bowler for the Kings, picking up four wickets for 34 runs in his four overs, while Naeem Islam bagged two.
For his match-winning half-century, Tamim was adjudged the Player of the Match in the BPL 2025 final, while Mehidy Hasan Miraz bagged the Player of the Tournament award for scoring 335 runs, coupled with 13 wickets.
