Taylor leads Chittagong to easy win

Chittagong Kings gave their boisterous home supporters some joy with an eight-wicket victory against Khulna Royal Bengals. It was their first win at the MA Aziz Stadium, and only their second in the tournament.

The packed stadium witnessed a battle of attrition as the Kings overcame a poor start to reach their target of 137. The pitch offered low bounce as the game progressed, and Brendan Taylor worked the ball around the bumpy outfield when it became difficult to loft it. Taylor, who steered the Kings' chase with a half-century, captained team after Mahmudullah had asked the team management for a break from the role.

Taylor hit seven fours and a six in his knock of 69 off 49 deliveries. Ryan ten Doeschate gave Taylor valuable support with a 34-ball 41, and adding 93 runs for the third wicket. Legspinner Samuel Badree and left-arm spinner Sanjamul Islam had taken a wicket each by the seventh over, before the big partnership finished the game and gave the home supporters, who had patiently waited for a win, a result to be happy with.

The Royal Bengals suffered their fifth defeat in seven games and have been without a win since they left their home ground last week. Their openers Lou Vincent and Shahriar Nafees got out for 9 each, and they limped to 47 for 3 in the tenth over. Travis Birt and Riki Wessels added 41 for the fourth wicket before Wessels, who top scored 35 off 32 balls, added another 33 with Daniel Harris.

The Royal Bengals' batsmen managed only nine boundaries in 20 overs, as the Kings bowled tighter than they had in their last two matches. Enamul Haque jnr took three wickets after Rubel Hossain and Shaun Tait had given the side a solid base with reasonable spells. The bowling performance also masked the Kings' fielding errors: Kevon Cooper and Mehrab Hossain jnr dropped a catch each.