ESPNcricinfo staff
February 13, 2012
Khulna Royal Bengals 131 for 3 (Smith 58*) beat Barisal Burners 125 (Haque 42, Shafiul 2-7, Shakib 2-19) by seven wickets
An incisive bowling attack and a half-century from Dwayne Smith combined to give Khulna Royal Bengals victory by seven wickets and 16 balls to spare in Mirpur. It was Barisal Burners' first defeat in the Bangladesh Premier League.
After brushing aside opposition bowlers in their first two games, the Burners batsmen failed collectively for the first time. Shafiul Islam dismissed Ahmed Shehzad and Chris Gayle for 0 and 2 on his way to figures of 2 for 7 in four overs. Shakib Al Hasan helped keep the run-rate well below six and, when he dismissed Brad Hodge in the sixth over, the Burners were 15 for 3. They slipped further to 67 for 7 before Mominul Haque made 42 to set Royal Bengals a target of 126.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Herschelle Gibbs began the chase with a partnership of 36. After they were dismissed, Smith and Sanath Jayasuriya added 45 for the third wicket. Jayasuriya made 23 but it was Smith's innings of 58 off 41 balls, which included four sixes, that sealed victory for the Royal Bengals.
