Asked to bat first Tigers started their innings well and put up a mammoth 210-run total for the loss of just two wickets. Tamim Iqbal (95) and Shai Hope (91) were the top scorers for the team. Meanwhile, Naseem Shah and Mosaddek Hossain scalped one wicket each for Victorians.
In reply, things did not start fine for Victorians as their opener Litton Das got retired hurt on the second ball of the very first over. However, Mohammed Rizwan batted efficiently for the team and scored a blistering 73 off 39 deliveries. In his knock, the 30-year-old slammed twelve boundaries comprising four sixes and smashed bowlers all over the park.
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Johnson Charles, who came in to bat at no. 4, gave Rizwan solid support from the other end and later went on to hit a ton in the game. Charles scored 107 runs off 56 balls and guided the Victorians to a dominating seven-wicket victory in 18.2 overs. The West Indies batter smashed whopping 11 sixes and five fours in his knock.
On the other hand, Shafiqul Islam and Nasum Ahmed took one wicket each for the Khulna Tigers but failed to take their team through and ended up on the losing side.
With this win, Imrul Kayes-led Victorians sailed to the playoffs and became the third qualifying team of the BPL 2023. The other teams to have qualified are: Mashrafe Mortaza captained Sylhet Strikers and Shakib al Hasan’s Fortune Barishal.
Rangpur Riders, who are currently placed at the fourth spot in the points tally, are expected to be the fourth and final team to reach the quarterfinals.
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