BPL round-up: Red-hot Tanzid, Mayers' dream debut, Tamim vs Shakib, and more

The week started with Khulna Tigers beating a hapless Dhaka side to win their fifth game of the season after enduring five successive defeats. They had won their first four games. Dhaka lost both their matches this week to take their successive defeats tally to 11, a BPL record.

Shakib Al Hasan continued his batting-form revival this week with a 39-ball 62 to help Rangpur beat Chattogram by 18 runs. Chattogram turned things around with a 10-run win against Dhaka before they crushed Khulna Tigers to confirm their playoff spot. Tanzid Hasan made important runs in both games, particularly the second one when he got his maiden T20 hundred.

The week also saw Rangpur's Abu Hider taking a five-wicket haul against Barishal although Tamim Iqbal's celebration of Shakib's wicket became a bigger talking point. Tamim's batting, however, has done most of the talking this season. He led Barishal into the playoffs with a solid 66 against Comilla, the innings also taking him to the top of the run-scorers' chart - with 391 runs - at the end of the league phase.

Kyle Mayers made his BPL debut memorable with a quick 48 followed by figures of 3 for 12 in Barishal's 18-run win against Sylhet Strikers. Fellow West Indian Andre Russell made his first mark on BPL 2024 with a 12-ball 43 for Comilla against Rangpur. His strike rate of 358.33 is the highest ever in a BPL innings (25 runs minimum).

Sylhet finished their campaign with two wins out of two this week. Benny Howell starred in both of them, clobbering a 31-ball 62 against Comilla Victorians before taking 3-15 to help them down Khulna by six wickets.

Batter of the week: Tanzid Hasan

Tanzid had made only a single fifty in this season before he suddenly burst into life this week, with a 51-ball 70 with six sixes and a four against Dhaka and his first century in T20s, against Khulna. He struck 116 off 65 balls, aided by eight sixes and as many fours. The two innings revived Chattogram's campaign with the two wins, helping them to the playoff in a late turnaround.

Bowler of the week: Abu Hider

In only his second game this season, Abu Hider became the first Bangladeshi bowler to take a five-wicket haul in this edition. He struck three times in his first five balls against Barishal, removing Mushfiqur Rahim, Soumya Sarkar, and Kyle Mayers. He added Mahmudullah and Mehidy Hasan Miraz to complete his maiden five-for in T20s.