Comilla Victorians went to the Finals, courtesy to Narine and Russell’s all-around performance
Comilla Victorians, the defending BPL champions, defeated Sylhet Strikers by four wickets in Qualifier 1 in Mirpur to get to their fourth BPL final. Strikers will now compete against Rangpur Riders in Tuesday’s Qualifier 2 after Rangpur Riders defeated Fortune Barishal in the afternoon’s Eliminator.
Sylhet would regret missing three opportunities when Comilla was chasing. Mushfiqur Rahim dropped two skiers and failed to stump one on all three incidents. It might have had an impact.
The bowling attack of Comilla, which was broad and skilled, was what made the success possible. Sunil Narine, Moeen Ali, and Mukidul Islam each claimed one wicket, while Andre Russell, Mustafizur Rahman, and Tanvir Islam each claimed two. They went to considerable lengths while adopting a wicket-taking strategy, giving Sylhet no time to recover.
In the second over, the 21-year-old uncapped Afghan Shafiqullah Ghafari was bowled over by Russell, and then Towhid Hridoy was successfully run out by Tanvir with a direct smash. Zakir Hasan was eliminated by Moeen’s extra bounce in the subsequent over, leaving Sylhet at 16 for 3 with Comilla in control.
Mashrafe Mortaza, a seasoned player who got to No. 5, made a surpising appearance and helped them recover. Najmul Hossain Shanto, who was batting calmly at the other end, had assistance from him when he smashed two sixes and the same number of fours in his 17-ball 26.
Mashrafe skied Russell, and Shanto was bowled by Tanvir, yet they both fell within eight balls of one another. Ryan Burl was dismissed by Tanvir on the following delivery, bringing the score to 78 for 6 in the eleventh over, further damaging them. Strikers were dismissed for a pitiful 125 in the 18th over despite Mushfiqur’s valiant efforts to save the innings.
In his 18-ball 39, Narine gave Comilla a rousing start by smashing four sixes and three fours. He was out in the fifth over, but with Comilla’s poor performance in their chasing, it left a lasting impression. Johnson Charles and Imrul Kayes failed to get going after Litton Das had fell in the fourth over.
However, Mosaddek Hossain performed the role of the anchor with an undefeated run-a-ball 27, and Moeen Ali struck a 13-ball 21.
When Moeen and Jakir Ali fell in the same over, there was another delay, but by that point, the target was only 19 runs away. In the 17th over, Russell, who had benefited from one of Mushfiqur’s lost catches, hit a couple of sixes to seal the victory.
By a margin of four wickets, Comilla Victorians 130 for 6 (Narine 39, Mosaddek 27*, Rubel 3-33) defeated Sylhet Strikers 125 (Shanto 38, Mushfiqur 29, Russell 2-22)