DHAKA, Feb 26, 2024 (BSS) - Fortune Barishal skipper Tamim Iqbal praised his bowlers' efforts after his side made it to the second Qualifier, thrashing Chattogram Challengers by seven wickets in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) Eliminator game today at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. 

On a good batting wicket, the bowlers helped the side get a small target by restricting Chattogram to just 135-9, which Barishal batters led by Kyle Mayers and Tamim Iqbal himself gunned down in 14.5 overs.

Mayers put the bowlers on sword to blast 26 ball-50 while Tamim was not out on 53.

"I thought the wicket looked better than the other one. But in Mirpur, (what we have seen) the early game has something for the bowlers," Tamim said during the post-match presentation. 

"I think during the first couple of overs it was a little tacky, which we used very nicely (to get the early edge)."

Only Josh Brown played to the merit of the wicket, hitting a 22 ball-34 but the other batters failed to complement his effort. After the top order's failure, captain Shuvagata Hom hammered 16 ball-24 which eventually propelled the side past 100.

"The wicket was excellent, but we failed to use it. Our top order batters also failed to use the power play properly," Hom admitted after the match.
"We had lost some early wickets and the momentum was shifted. We couldn't get it back. It's really disappointing that we were not able to put on a good total on a very good batting wicket."

Hom also disclosed that the injury concern and the non-availability of quality foreign players due to NOC issues hampered their progress.

"There was injury concern. Our pacer Shohidul bowled well throughout the tournament and made a breakthrough for us when it mattered. But he couldn't play in this match due to injury," Hom added.

"Also we couldn't bring up some more quality foreign players due to NOC complicacies. But in the end, you have to play good cricket. We were not calculative enough on the field."

Barishal will now play the Qualifier-2 game on Wednesday, which turns out to be a virtual semifinal. They will take on the looser between Rangpur Riders and Comilla Victorians.