Chittagong Kings edge out Khulna to reach BPL final in a nail-biting finish

Chittagong Kings edged out Khulna Tigers in the last ball of the second qualifier to march to the final of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) on Wednesday in Dhaka.

Chittagong won the match by two wickets in the last ball of the innings.

In the final set for February 7 at the same venue, Chittagong will now take on Fortune Barishal who won the first qualifier to advance to the final.

Chittagong won the toss in their final attempt to make the final and opted to bowl first. They picked up quick wickets early in the innings. But Khulna managed to build their innings slowly.

In the last five overs, Khulna posted 76 runs which helped them pass the 150-run mark, and ended up on 163.

While Hetmyer smashed 63, Mahidul Islam Ankon was their second-best run scorer with 41 off 32 balls with one four and three sixes.

For Chittagong, Binura Fernando, a Sri Lankan left-arm pacer, took two wickets.

In response, Chittagong's innings was anchored by opener Khawaja Nafay, who scored a solid 57 from 46 deliveries.

Hussain Talat also scored 40 off 25 bIn the last over of the innings, the Kings needed 15 runs to seal the game. They scored exactly this run and marched to the final.

Alis Al Islam hit two fours including one in the last ball, and Shoriful Islam also scored a four to seal the game for them. Musfik Hasan bowled the last over, but failed to contain 14 runs.

Kings ended the match scoring 164 for eight. For Khulna, Hasan Mahmud and Musfik took three wickets each, but their efforts went in vain.

While Barishal won the title once, it will be Kings’ first title if they can beat Barishal in the final on February 7.