The Titans tried their best to chase down the highest total but they failed. Despite a quick fifty from captain Mahmudullah Riayd and well-timed 40 from David Wiese, Khulna finished the innings on 188 for eight in 20 overs and lost the match by 26 runs, and which is their sixth loss in seven matches.
Abu Jayed Rahi, a Sylhet-born pacer, took three wickets for the Vikings in front of the home crowd to ensure the win for his team. Another Sylhet-born pacer Khaled Ahmed and Cameron Delport took two wickets each for the Vikings to lead the team to fourth win of the season.
Earlier, Chittagong Vikings posted 214/4 which is the highest total of the season, and it was also the overall 2nd highest total in the history of BPL after Dhaka Gladiators’ 217 for 4 against Rangpur Riders at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in 2013.
Yasir Ali and Mushfiqur Rahim hit the fifties for the Vikings and Dasun Shanaka struck 42 off 17 deliveries.
In the first match of the day, Sylhet Sixers posted 194 runs for four wickets in the first innings which was the highest team total of the season before Rangpur Rider passed that scoring 195 for six wickets. In the third innings in succession, fans have witnessed a run-fest in BPL.
Khulna Titans won the toss in the match and decided to bowl first. Chittagong managed an ordinary start as they lost the first wicket on 17. Shariful Islam trapped Cameron Delport for 13 runs.
In the second wicket stand, Mohammad Shahzad and Yasir Ali put 39 runs on the board. Shahzad was rolling over the Titans bowler but the right-handed Afghan star failed to continue his golden innings as he fell for 33 off 17 balls. Taijul Islam trapped him to the wicketkeeper.
In the third wicket partnership, Yasir Ali and Mushfiqur Rahim added 83 runs. Along the way, Yasir hit his first fifty of this edition of BPL. He fell for 54 off 36 in the 15th over bowled by David Wiese.
Mushfiqur was dismissed by the same bowler- David Wiese- in the 18th over, but Chittagong were keen to add more runs with the help of Dasun Shanaka. The Sri Lankan recruit of the Vikings crushed the Titans scoring 42 off 17 delivers with three fours and four sixes to his credit.
The Vikings added 23 runs from the last over bowled by Subashis Roy as Shanaka hit four fours and one six. In the last five overs, the Vikings managed as many as 72 runs. And finally, they scored 214 which is the highest team total of the season and second highest total in the history of BPL’s all seasons.
David Wiese took two wickets for Khulna, and Shariful Islam and Taijul Islam shared two wickets between them.
Chittagong will face off Dhaka Dynamites in their next outing on 21 January while Khulna Titans will lock horn with Rangpur Riders on 22 January.