Dhaka, Feb. 3 -- The defending champions of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) stormed into the final of this year's BPL beating Chittagong Kings by nine wickets in the qualifier one on Monday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.

While Barishal marched to the final, Chittagong will now take on Khulna Tigers in the second qualifier on February 5 at the same venue.

The defending champions, now one step closer to retaining their title, was guided by Mohammad Ali's five-wicket haul and a well-composed and unbeaten 82 of Towhid Hridoy.

Chittagong batted first in this and failed to lay a good foundation. They lost four wickets in just 34 runs inside the powerplay.

Four of their top five batters failed to reach a double-digit total. T...