A brilliant unbeaten 75 off 46 balls from Zakir Hasan guided Sylhet Strikers to an 8-run victory over Khulna Tigers in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) match at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

It was Strikers’s second win of the season in five matches, while Tigers suffered their second defeat in the four matches so far.

Sylhet batted first and were struggling losing two wickets for just 15 runs. Zakir then played the role of the anchor with 75 runs off just 46 balls with three fours and six sixes.

With this innings, Zakir topped the list of the batters who scored the most runs in this BPL so far. He now has 226 runs in five innings of five matches. He hit three fifties so far— most by any batter this season.

Before he came to the crease, Rony Talukdar laid down a solid foundation for the Strikers, scoring 56 off 44 balls with five boundaries and two sixes.

Together, Zakir and Rony built a 106-run partnership for the third wicket. They eventually posted a big total of 182 for five wickets.

For Khulna, Abu Hider took two wickets for 25 runs.

Chasing 183, Khulna Tigers fell short despite a late surge from Mohammad Nawaz, 33 off 18, and Mahidul Islam Ankon, 28 off 16. William Bosisto top-scored with 43 off 40 balls, but the lack of a big partnership hurt Khulna’s chances. 

For the Strikers, Reece Topley and Tanzim Hasan Sakib took two wickets each, while Nahidul Islam and Ruyel Miah contributed with one wicket each.