ESPNcricinfo staff
February 11, 2012
Khulna Royal Bengals 175 for 5 (Shakib 42, Russell 37*) beat Dhaka Gladiators 156 for 7 (Pollard 39*, Russell 4-35) by 19 runs
Andre Russell turned in a strong all-round performance, hitting 37 and taking four wickets, to help Khulna Royal Bengals beat Dhaka Gladiators by 19 runs. Chasing 176, Dhaka lost their way in the middle overs and in the end their star hitter Kieron Pollard ran out of partners.
Khulna's highest stand was 71 for the third wicket between Dwayne Smith and Shakib Al Hasan. The left-arm spinner Mosharraf Hossain broke the partnership when he had Smith caught for 37. Shakib fell soon after, bowled by Naved-ul-Hasan. Russell entertained the crowd with two lusty blows over deep midwicket for six to propel Khulna to a score that was to test the Dhaka line-up.
Dhaka lost Imran Nazir early, but the stand of 45 between Azhar Mahmood and Nazimuddin kept them in the hunt. Russell struck as soon as he was brought on, getting Mahmood caught behind while trying to cut. When he bowled Mohammad Ashraful in the same over, the momentum had shifted. Darren Stevens and Pollard added a fighting 62 for the fifth wicket, but Dhaka couldn't quite keep up with the asking-rate. Russell added two more to his tally to seal the win for Khulna.
