Comilla Victorians dominated Rangpur Riders in their final match of the league phase of the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) on Friday, securing a decisive 70-run victory in Mirpur. Victorians’ victory in their final league phase has solidified their position in second place on the points table. As a result, they will face off against the Sylhet Strikers in the first qualifier on February 12. On the same day, Rangpur Riders will face Fortune Barishal, the third and fourth team in the points table, in the eliminator. The outcome of this match will determine which team will be eliminated from the competition. The winner of the first qualifier will proceed to the final on February 16, while the loser will have to compete in the second qualifier against the winner of the eliminator. The team that emerges victorious from the second qualifier will then advance to the final to compete against the winner of the first qualifier. In Friday's match, the opening duo of the Comilla Victorians, Mohammad Rizwan and Litton Das, got off to a strong start, contributing 43 runs to the first wicket before Rizwan was dismissed for 24. Despite this setback, Litton was firm in the middle. Read more: BCB to mark month of language during BPL matches Friday Sunil Narine came to the crease with high expectations, but he was unable to convert his start and was dismissed for just 8 runs. This was a major setback for the team, and the pressure was on to find a new source of runs. However, Liton was quick to step up and took control of the situation, scoring 47 runs off 33 balls with three fours and as many sixes. Despite his strong effort, he was unable to carry on. Skipper Imrul Kayes and Jaker Ali then took over the responsibility of keeping the scorecard ticking, scoring 19 and 34 runs, respectively. The star of the show for Victorians was undoubtedly Khushdil Shah, who remained not out on a remarkable 40 runs off just 20 balls, hitting 2 fours and 3 sixes. This innings was instrumental in posting a challenging total for the Victorians. Comilla finished their innings on a strong note, scoring 177/5 in 20 overs. For the Riders, Azmatullah Omarzai took two wickets, conceding 34 runs. Rangpur Riders had a rough start in their pursuit of 178 runs, as opener Mohammad Naim was dismissed for just 6 runs. Rony Talukdar and Rahmanullah Gurbaz attempted to steady the innings, but both fell short with scores of 13 and 29 runs respectively. Despite the efforts of Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Nurul Hasan, and Shamim Hossain, Rangpur Riders struggled with the bat and were eventually all out for 107 runs in 17 overs. The bowlers for Comilla Victorians, however, put in a fantastic performance. Tanvir Islam took 2 wickets, while Narine and Mustafizur Rahman took 2 and 3 wickets respectively. Andre Russell also contributed with 1 wicket to secure a decisive 70-run victory for Comilla Victorians.  

Riding on 48 by Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) debutant Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Comilla Victorians beat Fortune Barishal by 63 runs on Tuesday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.  It was the second win for the Victorians in two matches they have played so far in the BPL while it was the second defeat for Barishal in three matches so far.  Barishal won the toss in this match and sent Comilla to bat first, who made a good start as Cameron Delport and Joy added 33 in the first 3.2 overs. Joy smashed Nayeem Hasan for two fours and one six in the very second over of the match, and in the next over, bowled by Barishal captain Shakib Al Hasan, Delport hit three fours.  While Joy continued to keep the scoreboard afloat, Delport fell prey to Nayee in the fourth over of the innings for 19 off 13 balls.  In the sixth over, Shakib removed Faf du Plessis, the former South African superstar who is yet to announce his presence in BPL with his signature batting skills. This time, he only returned six off 11 deliveries.  Imrul Kayes, the veteran top-order batter, was also lean in the middle in Tuesday’s match as he scored only 15 off 11 balls. They eventually ended up on a challenging total of 158 for seven in 20 overs, fueled by Afghan allrounder Karim Janat’s 16-ball 29 with one four and three sixes.  For Barishal, Dwayne Bravo, the West Indian allrounder, bagged three wickets conceding 30 runs in four overs while Shakib scalped two.  In reply, Barishal batters were clueless to play against the spin of Nahidul Islam who conceded only five runs in four overs and scalped three wickets including Chris Gayle. The right-arm offspinner also bagged the wickets of Shykat Ali and Shakib.  Nahidul’s first prey was Shykat who fell for a duck in the very first over, which made it tough for Barishal to come up with a good start in pursuit of a challenging target of 159 runs.  Najmul Hossain Shanto was the best batter for Barishal scoring 36 off 47 balls at a strike rate of 76.59. Apart from him, Nurul Hasan and Towhid Hridoy were the other two batters to have reached a double-digit score— 17 and 19 respectively.  While Nahidul got three wickets, Shohidul Islam, Tanvir Islam and Karim Janat took two wickets each.  Comilla Victorians will play their next match against Chattogram Challengers on January 31 while Barishal will play against Khulna Tigers on January 29. Both of these matches will be played in the port city of Chattogram.

In their first match of the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) on Saturday, Sylhet Sunrisers were bundled out for 96 against former champions Comilla Victorians at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.  The Victorians won the toss and sent the Sunrisers to bat first. Inside the powerplay, Sunrisers lost only two wickets— Anamul Haque and Mohammad Mithun— both failed to reach a double-digit score.  The wicket was not ideal for the batters. It offered pace, swing, and spin altogether. But the Sunrisers batters were unable to show any resistance. READ: T20 World Cup 2022: Bangladesh to Face India, Pakistan in the Super 12 Round Colin Ingram was the highest runs getter for them scoring only 20 while their second-best runs came from extras.  For the Victorians, Nahidul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman and Shohidul Islam bagged two wickets each while left-arm spinner Tanvir Islam bowled four overs conceding only 10 runs and scalped a wicket.  On any other day, the Victorians would have suffered due to their bowling laced with indiscipline, but the lean display from Sunrisers’ batters might have saved them in this match.