Fortune Barishal defeated Chittagong Kings by three wickets to win the 2024-25 edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). Captain Tamim Iqbal and Kyle Mayers played sensational cricket to match the tempo of the game and eventually helped the team get over the line with only three balls remaining. The game once looked like it might slip away from their hands but Barishal managed to hold tight and won it, courtesy of Rishad Hossain’s phenomenal cameo.
Batting first, Chittagong managed a terrific start as both openers Khawaja Nafay and Parvez Hossain Emon registered a half-century each. Nafay made 66 runs off 44 deliveries while Emon smashed an unbeaten 78 runs off 49 deliveries.
They stitched a partnership of 121 runs, which is the highest stand in a BPL final. Batting at number three, Graham Clark kept up with the momentum, scoring 44 runs off 23 balls as Chittagong posted 194 runs in the first innings at Shere Bangla Stadium in Dhaka.
Chasing a high score on a final is never an easy task but Barishal did the unthinkable. Tamim struck a rapid half-century as he scored 54 runs off 29 deliveries while his opening partner Towhid Hridoy made 32 off 28. Dawid Malan failed at number three, which only put more pressure on the defending champions but at four, Mayers played a vital knock of 46 runs off 28 balls.
Later, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah and Mohammad Nabi flopped, scoring 16, 7 and 4 respectively and that’s when the game was slowly slipping away from their hand. However, since the top order gave a perfect start, things were in control for Barsishal but they needed something extraordinary to get over the line. That’s when Rishad stood up and hit sixes against Binura Fernando and Hussain Talat. His cameo of 18 runs off six deliveries proved to be the deciding factor as Barishal went on to lift the BPL trophy.