ESPNcricinfo staff
February 26, 2012
Barisal Burners 151 for 5 (Hodge 67) beat Chittagong Kings 150 for 9 (Jason Roy 42, Arafat 3-25) by five wickets
Barisal Burners became the second team to qualify for the Bangladesh Premier League semi-finals after comfortably beating Chittagong Kings in Mirpur. The loss leaves Chittagong on the brink of an exit; the only way they can make the semi-finals is if either Dhaka Gladiators or Khulna Royal Bengals lose their last match badly enough for their net run-rate to drop below Chittagong's (Points table).
It was a match Chittagong started brightly. The openers got them off to a flier, putting together 51 runs in just 3.5 overs. Ziaur Rahman was dismissed for 24 off 13 balls but England's Jason Roy carried on, and got 42 off 25 balls. Chittagong had the base to go on and get a big total, but their middle and lower order collapsed. Left-arm spinner Nazmul Islam started the slide, dismissing Roy and Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor. Then Pakistan's Yasir Arafat took three wickets to rip through the Chittagong middle order. None of Chittagong's last six batsmen got into double figures, and they went from 123 for 3 to 150 for 9.
Barisal looked keen to make short work of the chase, and the openers raced to 109 inside 10 overs. Ahmed Shehzad fell for 43 off 30 balls, and Brad Hodge followed, after scoring 67 off just 36 balls with eight fours and three sixes. A flurry of wickets followed but the opening pair had done enough to ensure Barisal got home in just 15 overs.
