With the playoffs already secured, Mahmudul Hasan Joy said Chattogram Royals remain firmly focused on finishing in the top two despite a three-wicket defeat to Rajshahi that kept the race at the top of the BPL table tight.
Speaking after the match, Joy framed the result in the context of qualification scenarios rather than the loss itself. Chattogram sit second with 12 points from nine matches, and the top-order batter underlined how much a top-two finish would matter. “If we finish in the top one or two, we get two advantages with the second qualifier,” he said. “There is still one match left. If we can finish that well, we will stay in the top two.”
Joy felt the opportunity to strengthen that position slipped away earlier in the game. He believed Chattogram were short of a defendable total after failing to capitalise on a strong start. “I was batting well and felt confident,” he said. “If I could have made the innings bigger, maybe sixty or seventy, the team score could have gone past 160. That would have been a very good position.”
Rajshahi’s bowlers kept control through the middle and late overs, something Joy acknowledged while stressing the fine margins involved. “They deserve credit for taking the game until the end,” he said. “Of course there is regret, because both teams are at the top. If we had won this match, we could have finished number one.”
As Rajshahi chased, Chattogram briefly sensed an opening when two wickets fell before the final over. Joy said the team’s approach at that stage was shaped by qualification calculations as much as the immediate contest. “We tried to take the game as long as possible and push it to the last over,” he said. “There are also run-rate calculations, so the plan was to stretch it.”
Looking ahead, Joy viewed the match as useful preparation for a likely qualifier against the same opposition. “Rajshahi are a good team,” he said. “We beat them earlier in Sylhet and today was another close game. If we perform well on the day, the opponent does not matter.”
Joy has scored 96 runs in seven innings this season and has struggled for consistency, but Chattogram remain well placed with the playoffs confirmed and a clear route still open to the final. “There is one more match for us,” he said. “That is where our focus is now.”
