Firebrand Mushfiqur keeps Dhaka alive

On the same pitch which produced 441 runs in one of the group stage matches of the ongoing Bangabandhu T20 Cup, Beximco Dhaka yesterday managed to defend a sub-par total of 150 runs, beating Fortune Barishal by nine runs in eliminator.

Skipper Mushfiqur Rahim marshalled his troops with great authority, if at times with a bit too much of aggression, as the Dhaka bowlers kept the pressure till the end to restrict Barishal to 141 for nine in 20 overs. The victory helped Dhaka qualify for the second qualifier while eliminating Barishal from the tournament.

Coming to chase a modest target, Barishal batters looked shaky right from the start as they lost opener Saif Hasan for 12. Barishal kept on losing wickets at regular intervals and played away too many dot balls -- 51 to be precise during the course of the innings, which proved vital in the final reckoning.

Young Parvez Hossain one was of those who succumbed to the early pressure, with the left-hander perishing while trying to go for a big shot against off-spinner Robiul Islam. Parvez lost his castle and gave the first success to Robiul, who finished with brilliant figures of 15 for one in four overs.

Tamim, barely recovered from his physical discomfort, looked uncomfortable throughout his 28-ball 22. The opener eventually handed a straight-forward catch at deep square-leg against Muktar Ali, who bagged three wickets.

Afif Hossain led the charge for Barishal with a 35-ball 55, featuring four gorgeous sixes and three fours, but his dismissal off the bowling of Shafiqul Islam, who ended with three wickets, signalled the end of Barishal's chances.

Credit must go to the Dhaka bowlers, who gave away only three extras and were always kept on their toes by Mushfiqur. The wicketkeeper-batsman, known to be a very emotional individual, did not shy away from expressing raw emotion every time a poor delivery was bowled or a sloppy fielding effort took place in the field.

The former Bangladesh captain was extremely animated on one occasion and gave a bit of a dressing-down to Nasum Ahmed after the two almost collided while going for the catch of Afif at short fine-leg in the final ball of the 17th over, bowled by Shafiqul Islam. The collision was just avoided and Mushfiqur held on to the catch, but the skipper made Nasum feel the heat, attempting to throw the ball at him before being calmed by his teammates.

Earlier, Barishal bowlers did well to reduce Dhaka to 25 for three in the Powerplay, including the dismissal of previous-match centurion Naim Sheikh for five.

Mushfiqur steadied the ship with support from Yasir Ali, the two resurrecting the innings from the disastrous situation.

Mushfiqur was dismissed for a 30-ball 43 but Yasir went on to score his second fifty of the tournament before being dismissed for a 43-ball 54. Young Akbar Ali played a cameo of 21 runs off nine deliveries to help Dhaka post 150 for eight, which eventually proved to be a winning score.