The Daily Morning Voice Online Desk: Fortune Barishal got their first win of the Bangladesh Premier League with a six-wicket win over Rangpur Riders courtesy of an all-round display from Mehedi Hasan Miraz and a fifty from Afghanistan batter Ibrahim Zadran at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.

Miraz scalped two wickets to help restrict Rangpur to 158-7 and then came back with the bat to smash 43 off 29 balls in an 84-run stand with Ibrahim who scored a 41-ball 52 hitting five fours and two sixes in the process to help set up a successful chase for last year’s runners-up. The two batters, however, couldn’t see their team through and the onus fell upon Iftikhar. Ahmed and Karim Janat who combined for a 38-run partnership to get their team across the finish line with four balls to spare.

Iftikhar worked hard for his 25 runs off 18 balls while Janat smashed two fours and one six for his quickfire 21 off 14. Barishal skipper Shakib Al Hasan stayed true to the trend of bowling first after winning the toss and managed to restrict Rangpur to 158-7. The left-arm spinner opened the bowling and got his team off to the best of starts as he nicked off Rangpur opener Mohammad Naim in the very first delivery of the innings. The other opener, Rony Talukdar, however, decided to counterpunch after they lost three wickets inside the powerplay as he hit five fours and one six in his 28-ball 40 before being castled by left-arm spinner Chaturanga de Silva.

Veteran Shoaib Malik came to the rescue as he hit and held the innings together notching up his first fifty of the tournament as batters around him perished at regular intervals. Malik remained unbeaten on 54 off 36 balls, including two sixes and five fours. In reply, de Silva fell to Rangpur’s Rakibul Islam in the very first over and his fellow opener Anamul Haque Bijoy soon followed for 15 missing a full-ish delivery while trying to sweep Sikandar Raza. Number three Ibrahim anchored the innings with a steady approach as he stitched up an 84-run stand with Miraz who held onto his purple patch and delivered an impactful knock in Rangpur’s successful chase but the two would feel hard done by as they failed to take their team home leaving the chase in a precarious position. But Iftikhar and Janat held their nerves and finished the game to give their team their first win.