Khulna Tigers Face First Defeat in BPL After Winning Two Consecutive Matches

Khulna Tigers had a great start in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) by winning two consecutive matches in the Dhaka phase. The players were in a positive mood after a long break before their third match in Sylhet. However, they tasted their first defeat of this season against Durbar Rajshahi in Sylhet.

In the previous season, Khulna also won their first four matches but lost momentum thereafter and failed to qualify for the knockout stage. When asked if they had lost their momentum this time, Khulna's representative, Nasum Ahmed, said at a press conference:

"Actually, we didn’t lose momentum. Last season, we also won the first match in Sylhet. Such things can happen, and we are not playing badly. We were chasing 180 runs, but we lost a few wickets in the middle, which made it difficult towards the end."

In response to Rajshahi's 178-run total, Khulna Tigers struggled in the powerplay, scoring only 34 runs and losing two wickets. Nasum identified this as one of the key reasons for the defeat: "In the 5 to 12-over period during the powerplay, we were a bit behind in terms of run rate. That's where we fell behind."

Khulna Tigers have played the least number of matches in this year’s BPL so far. After their second match in Dhaka on the 3rd, they played their third match in Sylhet on the 10th, with a long break in between. However, Nasum explained that the break did not cause any issues for the team: "I think it has been good for us from the start. Every team has to take some breaks, and we should approach it professionally."