Talukdar’s 61, Russell’s freak run out headline Khulna’s triumph on BPL opening day

Tamim Iqbal’s 50, and Dhaka’s total of 183 for 6, proved insufficient

Khulna Tigers 186 for 5 (Talukdar 61, Ebadot 2-27) beat Minister Group Dhaka 183 for 6 (Tamim 50, Shahzad 42, Rabbi 3-45) by five wickets

How the match played out

Big hit

Fletcher made 45 off 23 balls with seven fours and two sixes. He struck 22 runs off Rubel Hossain, hitting him for four fours and a six in the fourth over. Talukdar played the anchor role, making 61 off 42 with seven fours and a six.

For Dhaka, Tamim hit 50 off 42 balls, while Shahzad blasted 42 off 27 balls with eight fours. Their innings got the final flourish from Mahmudullah, who struck three sixes and two fours in his 20-ball 39.

Big miss

Dhaka’s bowling came unstuck, with Rubel, Isuru Udana and Russell going for 121 runs in their 11 combined overs. With the bat, Russell made only seven runs, which played a part in them not being able to reach 200.