Comilla Victorians, the most successful team in the league's history, is all set to take on the Sylhet Strikers, who have made it to the final for the first time. The final will be played on Thursday at Mirpur, Dhaka. While Comilla has been the most successful team in the league, the Strikers are led by Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, the captain who has won the BPL title more times than anyone else, making the final a unique rivalry. Sylhet finished at the top of the points table in the league phase and had a great run throughout. However, they lost the first qualifier to Comilla and had to beat Rangpur Riders in the second qualifier to make it to the final. Towhid Hriody and Najmul Hossain Shanto, both local batters, have been the key architects of Sylhet Strikers’ most successful run in the BPL. Towhid has scored five fifties this season, while Shanto has knocked two. Despite suffering a brief hand injury, Towhid has maintained his zeal throughout. Remarkably, both batters have scored over 400 runs so far, with only one other player achieving this feat. “Our priority is team performance over individual performance,” said Sylhet’s left-handed opener Shanto ahead of the final. “It’s great to see that Towhid is also doing well, and the healthy competition between us is a positive thing. Our common goal is to excel in our game and win the match tomorrow.” The Strikers’ main bowlers are Mohammad Amir, Rejaur Rahman Raja, Mashrafe, and Imad Wasim. On the other hand, Comilla has relied heavily on Mohammad Rizwan and Khushdil Shah, who have averages of 50 and 47, respectively. Tanvir Islam led Comilla's bowling attack, taking 16 wickets, just one short of the highest-wicket taker. According to Comilla captain Imrul Kayes, who has already won two BPL titles, the final is going to be a high-octane match. He believes the team that can manage their nerves well will have a better chance of lifting the title. “The match is going to be a battle of the minds,” Imrul said. “In high-pressure games, the team that can keep their nerves under control is the one that tends to perform better. It's important to manage oneself in these situations. Even if a team scores two hundred runs, there's no guarantee they will win.” The match is scheduled to begin at 6:30 pm, and a concert featuring renowned Bangladeshi bands will take place at the venue before the game.    

Fortune Barishal and Comilla Victorians are all set to lock their horns in the final of the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) on Friday.   Shakib Al Hasan, the captain of Barishal, and Bangladesh’s best known all-rounders has a great opportunity to guide his team to the maiden title. He has won the BPL title on a number of occasions previously for several teams.  Shakib was not present in the last practice session ahead of the final. Sources close to Barishal said that Shakib was suffering from “stomach ache”. However, Shakib was not available to clear why he was not present at the last practice session. Instead of him, Nurul Hasan Sohan was seen in the trophy unveiling event. Khaled Mahmud, the most successful coach of BPL, is confident about the good show of Shakib once again in the final.  “Our only target is to win the title,” Mahmud told the media on Thursday. “We played really tough cricket to come to this stage. We are confident of lifting the title. And as a captain, Shakib has been doing very well. He has been leading from the front. When the captain plays well, everything becomes easier.” Shakib has scored 277 runs and scalped 15 wickets for Barishal so far. No other Barishal batter scored more than him, and Dwayne Bravo has taken only two more wickets than Shakib.  This stat is enough to prove how dependent are Barisal on the southpaw. Even the coach of Barishal’s final opponent Comilla Victorians, Mohammed Salahuddin, also believes that they have to play against the ‘brain” of Shakib in the final.  Read: Comilla Victorians to meet Fortune Barishal in BPL 2022 Final “The biggest strength Barishal have is Shakib,” Salahuddin said. “He has been doing fantastic as the captain. They defended some low-scoring affairs. He used his resources in the most effective way. So have to fight against him in the final.” Comilla coach also said that his counterpart Mahmud has something special in him that made him the most successful coach in the history of BPL.  Comilla captain Imrul Kayes reckons that Shakib is more experienced than him as a captain as the latter led the Tigers in many matches in international cricket. “Shakib is so proactive in the field, and he is more experienced than me,” Imrul told the media on Thursday. “I will also try to do more as a captain.”  Imrul has a good chance to become the only second captain after Mashrafe Bin Mortaza to win the title of BPL on more than one occasion. Mashrafe won four BPL titles while Imrul won one as the captain of the Victorians.  While Shakib was the sharpest weapon in Barishal’s arsenal, Faf du Plessis, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Moeen Ali, Mustafizur Rahman have done well for Victorians. Having more match-winners than Barishal is keeping Victorians, the two-time BPL champions, slightly ahead of Barsihal in the final.  But the players Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo are yet to display their batting prowess that can change the fate of the match at any moment. And along with them, Munim Shahriar also drew the attention of many with his power-hitting ability. The right-handed batter can also win for Barishal.  The final match starts at 5:30 pm.  

Rajshahi Royals emerged as the champion of Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) beating Khulna Tigers by 21 runs at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Friday.

Rajshahi Royals posted 170 for four in 20 overs against Khulna Tigers in the final of the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Friday.