Fortune Barishal clinched the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) title for the second consecutive time beating Chittagong Kings by three wickets on Friday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.

Batting first the Chittagong Kings posted a challenging total of 194 for three, riding on a solid partnership of 121 runs of their openers.

Chasing a challenging target of 195, Barishal secured the championship with 3 balls to spare. Rishad Hossain scored 18 of just 6 balls to steer his team to the finish line.

Tamim hit 54 off 29 balls with nine fours and one six. In the opening stand, Tamim and Towhid Hridoy forged a stand of 76 runs, which was a good foundation for them to chase a big total of 194 runs.

Kyle Mayers scored 46 to lead Barishal after Tamim’s dismissal. Hit three fours and three sixes.

Rishad hit another six off the first ball of the last over bowled by Hussain Talat. In the last five balls, Barishal needed only two runs which they scored easily to reach 195 with three balls to play.

For Chittagong, Shoriful Islam bagged four wickets for 34 runs, but his effort went in vain he ended up being on the losing side.

Earlier, Fortune Barishal won the toss and opted to bowl first. Their plan did not work as the Kings' openers, Khawaja Nafay and Parvez Hossain Emon, laid a strong foundation.

Nafay was dismissed at 66 off 44 balls with seven fours and three sixes. But Parvez continued to disappoint the Barishal bowlers. He remained unbeaten at 78 runs off 49 balls with six fours and four sixes. Graham Clark also shone with 44 off 23 balls with two fours and three sixes.

MSH

Bangladeshi wicketkeeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim is set to feature for Fortune Barishal in the forthcoming Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).

Mushfiqur had played for Sylhet Strikers in the last edition. His price was fixed at 80 lakhs in the players' draft according to the category. Which means he was in 'A' category.

The top category player will play along with other star players like Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, and Khaled Ahmed in Fortune Barishal.

Neymar said he was relishing “new challenges and opportunities in new places” after he joined Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal from Paris Saint-Germain on a two-year deal Tuesday, becoming the latest big name lured to the oil-rich Gulf state.

The Brazil forward, 31, ends a six-year stay in the French capital and follows in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Sadio Mane in swapping Europe for the Middle East.

“I have achieved a lot in Europe and enjoyed special times, but I have always wanted to be a global player and test myself with new challenges and opportunities in new places,” Neymar said in a statement from the Saudi Pro League.

“I want to write new sporting history, and the Saudi Pro League has tremendous energy and quality players at the moment,” he added.

Neymar was “in negotiations” on Sunday to become the latest football superstar to decamp for Saudi Arabia, leaving Paris Saint-Germain just as Kylian Mbappe was brought back in from the cold by the French champions.

A source close to PSG told AFP that 31-year-old Neymar “no longer figures in the club or manager’s plans” with the Brazilian immediately linked to Al-Hilal in the Gulf kingdom.

Another source in Saudi Arabia said that “direct negotiations” between Neymar’s agents and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) were ongoing.