Barisal prevail in tight contest

Barisal Burners bounced back from three consecutive defeats to beat Chittagong Kings by six runs. The Kings are now at the bottom of the points table, with one win from five games, replacing the Burners, who now have two and have pushed themselves up to sixth.

Sabbir Rahman and Azhar Mahmood paved the way for the victory with a 68-run partnership for the third wicket, which led the Burners to 182 for 5, a total that was out of the Kings' reach despite the smaller ground and friendly batting conditions at the MA Aziz Stadium.

An aggressive batsman, Sabbir took advantage of the Powerplay by lofting the ball frequently. He smashed 40 off 27 balls, including a straight-driven six off Shaun Tait that seemed to deflate the Australian fast bowler. He also launched one towards midwicket off Enamul Haque jnr, besides hitting five boundaries.

Mahmood supported him with a 29-ball 35, before Phil Mustard and Alok Kapali accelerated towards the end of their innings.

The Kings' captain Mahmudullah used eight bowlers, among whom Kevon Cooper took two wickets. The part-timers - Enamul, Arafat Sunny, Ravi Bopara and Aftab Ahmed - went for 48 runs, which ultimately proved costly.

Kings' start with the bat was also poor because Naeem Islam and Bopara didn't make any contributions. Brendan Taylor made 51 off 42 balls with two sixes and five boundaries, and was the only one who kept them in the game.

After Taylor's dismissal, Mahmudullah and Ryan ten Doeschate continued the pursuit; they were progressing well at 90 for 2 after ten overs, marginally better than the Burners at the same stage in their innings. Once ten Doeschate fell in the 14th over, though, local boy Aftab Ahmed was given the dificult task of turning around the team's fortune on his return to big time cricket. However, he couldn't time the ball or play any of his aerial shots.

Elias Sunny took three wickets, and Mahmood took two as the Burners finally won a game, the first since their second match of the campaign. Chittagong continued to be poor in the competition to the disappointment of their fans, who turned up in large numbers to attend this game.