Khulna Titans have come crashing down to earth to be bowled out for the lowest Bangladesh Premier League total and slumped from a breathtaking win in their previous match to an insufferable defeat in the next.
Electing to bat first, Khulna’s batting order was blown away for an embarrassing 44 on Thursday evening.
Rangpur Riders then made short work of their second straight win by nine wickets in a match that lasted 18.4 overs at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
Having defended six runs in a dramatic final over against Rajshahi Kings on Wednesday in their opener, Mahmudullah and his men fell 14 runs short of the previous record (58), set by Barisal Bulls in the last edition.
Only on three other occasions have teams been skittled for the measly score before this in a Twenty20 encounter and just two other teams share the dubious distinction of getting to totals even lower.
Tripura hold the record for the lowest ever T20 total. They were bundled out for 30 runs by Jharkhand in India’s East Zone game of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2009.
The Netherlands’ 39 all out against Sri Lanka in the 2014 World Twenty20 is the other.
Khulna’s blushes did not end there as they could survive only 10.4 overs which is another new BPL record.
Sylhet Superstars previously registered the embarrassing record of being bowled out in the fewest balls when all their batsmen were back in the hutch by 11.5 overs last year.
The world record for this is held by Bangladeshi club Mohammedan who folded in only 8.4 overs against Prime Bank in 2013. The Netherlands and England’s Essex were each once bowled out in 10.3 overs and Namibia had matched the overs of Khulna’s on another occasion.
Shuvagata Hom Chowdhury was the topscorer for Khulna with 12 and the only batsmen to manage double figures for them. Four of their batsmen were dismissed for ducks.
Shahid Afridi and Arafat Sunny dismantled the Khulna batting with seven wickets between them.
Afridi may have been more successful after returning 4 for 12, but Sunny’s haul of three wickets was exceptional as he did not give away any run from his 2.4 overs.
Source: Bd news24