West Indian all-rounder Kyle Mayers produced a man of the match performance to help Fortune Barishal secure their first Bangladesh Premier League title with a six-wicket win over Comilla Victorians in the final at the Shere-e-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur on Friday.
The Victorians, who entered Friday’s game seeking their third BPL title in a row and fifth overall, made 154-6 from their 20 overs after being put in to bat by Barishal.
Mahidul Islam Ankon was the top scorer for Comilla with a measured 35-ball 38 while Andre Russell provided some lower order excitement with 27 off 14 balls including four sixes.
James Fuller was expensive in his four overs, going for 43 while picking up a pair of wickets.
Mayers and Obed McCoy were both economical on the day with figures of 1-26 and 1-24 from four overs, respectively.
Barishal then needed only 19 overs to reach 157-4 and secure their maiden hold on the title.
Mayers completed a fine all-round display with a top score of 46 off 30 balls including five fours and two sixes.
Captain Tamim Iqbal, who was named the player of the tournament, made 39 off 26 balls including three fours and as many sixes at the top of the order.
His opening partner, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, also batted well for his 26-ball 29.
Mustafizur Rahman and Moeen Ali took a pair of wickets, each, for the Victorians.
The Comilla Victorians and Fortune Barishal will lock horns to determine the champion of the 2024 Bangladesh Premier League at the Shere-e-Bangla stadium in Mirpur on Friday.
The Victorians, home of West Indians Sunil Narine, Andre Russell and Johnson Charles, will be looking for their third BPL title in a row and fifth overall while Barishal, home of Kyle Mayers, Obed McCoy and Yannic Cariah, will be seeking their first BPL crown.
Comilla finished second on the final points table in the league phase and got to the final on the back of a six-wicket win over the Rangpur Riders in Qualifier 1 on Monday.
Barishal, who finished third on the points table, got a seven-wicket win over the Chattogram Challengers in the Eliminator on Monday before upsetting the Riders with a six-wicket win in Qualifier 2 on Wednesday.
The final is expected to be an exciting affair as both teams have registered wins over each other this season.
They first met on January 23 with the Victorians winning by four wickets before, a month later, Barishal registered a six-wicket win.
Individually, the two finalists boast the top two run scorers in this season’s edition of the BPL.
Fortune Barishal will be looking for a big contribution from opener Tamim Iqbal who currently leads the run-scoring chart with 453 runs from 14 innings at a strike rate of 125.48 including three fifties.
Second on that list in Comilla’s Towhid Hridoy with 447 runs from 13 innings at a strike rate of 149.49 including a hundred and a pair of fifties.
Comilla’s Litton Das (375 runs from 13 innings) and Barishal’s Mushfiqur Rahim (367 runs from 14 innings) are also among the top five run getters this season and will be looking to score big in Friday’s final.
As for the bowling side, medium pacer Mohammad Saifuddin has taken 14 wickets at an average of 14.14 for Barishal while left-arm spinner Tanvir Islam has picked up 13 wickets in 12 matches for the Victorians.
Off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz and West Indian left-arm quick Obed McCoy have also been in good form for Barishal with 11 wickets each.
Fortune Barishal kept themselves in the hunt for a place in the BPL final after they crushed Chattogram Challengers by seven wickets in the Eliminator match in Mirpur on Monday.
Kyle Mayers starred for Barishal with an all-round show, taking two wickets before hitting a rapid half-century.
Barishal lost Soumya Sarkar in the first over of their 136-run chase but Tamim Iqbal and No. 3 Mayers quickly hit back. Tamim struck Al-Amin Hossain for three fours in the second over before Mayers joined in with his first six in the third over. Mayers then blasted Shuvagata Hom for 26 runs in the fifth over, hitting three sixes and two fours.
Mayers got out soon after reaching 50, caught behind off Bilal Khan, having faced 26 balls. He struck five sixes and three fours. Tamim kept the chase on track with his unbeaten 52 off 43 balls, including nine fours as Barishal won with 5.1 overs to spare. Barishal's newcomer David Miller didn't force the issue, hitting 17 off 13 balls before falling for a simple catch to deep midwicket. Mushfiqur Rahim was there with Tamim to complete the chase.
Chattogram earlier had banked heavily on their in-form opener Tanzid Hasan. But he fell in the second over. Saifuddin got the big wicket when he had the left-hander caught behind. Tanzid's opening partner Josh Brown briefly attacked, hitting three sixes and two fours, before holing out at point to Miller. Brown made 34 off 22 balls.
Shuvagata's 24 off 16 balls took Chattogram past the 100 mark, as the Barishal bowlers grabbed the game firmly for the rest of the innings. Mayers, Saifuddin and Obed McCoy took two wickets each while Taijul Islam and James Fuller picked up one wicket respectively.
West Indies opener Brandon King played a starring role to help the Rangpur Riders secure a narrow one-wicket victory over Fortune Barishal in Bangladesh Premier League action at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram on Monday.
Fortune Barishal first made 151-9 from their 20 overs after winning the toss and batting first.
Kyle Mayers led the way with 46 batting at number three. The Bajan left-hander’s knock lasted 27 deliveries and included four fours and three sixes.
He was well supported by Captain Tamim Iqbal and Tom Banton who made 33 and 26, respectively.
Abu Hider was excellent with the ball for the Riders with figures of 5-12 from his four overs while Hasan Mahmud took 2-31 from his four overs.
The successful chase was then led by King who had his best score of the season so far with 45 off 22 balls including three fours and four sixes.
Coming into this game, King had scores of 0, 0, 1, 20, 14, 1 and 2 this BPL season.
Superstar all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan also contributed well for the winners with 29 while Jimmy Neesham made 28 against 3-24 off four overs from Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
Mayers also completed a good all-round performance of his own with 2-31 from his four overs while Obed McCoy grabbed 3-34 from his four overs.
Comilla Victorians are now three-time champions of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) after securing a narrow one-run win over Fortune Barishal in the final in Mirpur on Friday.
In a rematch of the first qualifier which Barishal won by 10 runs, the Victorians won the toss and batted first.
Sunil Narine followed up his 13-ball 50 in the second qualifier with a 23-ball 57 to spur the Victorians to 151-9 off their 20 overs. The Trinidadian’s knock included five fours and five sixes.
Moeen Ali provided good support for Narine with 38 off 32 balls against 2-27 off four overs from Mujeeb Ur Rahman and 2-32 off four overs from Shafiqul Islam.
Scoreboard pressure in a final once again proved to be a major factor as Barishal made a meal of a fairly manageable total.
Shykat Ali (58) and Chris Gayle (33) were the only batsmen to get significant scores for Barishal against 2-15 from four overs from Narine and 2-25 from four overs from Tanvir Islam.
Comilla Victorians previously won BPL in 2015 and 2019.
Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo are into the final of the 2022 Bangladesh Premier League after Fortune Barishal defeated Sunil Narine’s Comilla Victorians by 10 runs in the first qualifier in Mirpur on Monday.
Barishal posted 143-8 off their 20 overs after Comilla captain Imrul Kayes called right at the toss and put them in to bat.
Barishal can attribute their total to opener Munim Shariar who top-scored with a 30-ball 44 that included two fours and four sixes.
Gayle played another uncharacteristically reserved innings to be the second highest scorer for Barishal with 22 off 19 balls with four fours while Bravo added some crucial late runs with 17 off 21 balls with only one six.
Shohidul Islam was the pick of the Comilla bowlers with 3-25 off three overs while Moeen Ali supported well with 4-23 from his four.
A 62-run opening partnership between Liton Das and Mahmudul Hasan Joy had the Victorians thinking they had one foot in the final before it all went downhill.
The partnership ended in the 11th over when Joy was dismissed for 20 before Imrul Kayes was also walking back just one over later for just five.
That 12th over, bowled by Shafiqul Islam, proved to be the most important of the innings as he also dismissed Das for 38 to leave the Victorians 68-3 and in a spot of bother.
None of the other batsmen seemed to find any rhythm at the crease with Faf Du Plessis (21), Moeen Ali (22), and Sunil Narine (17) the only remaining batsmen to reach double figures.
The Victorians were eventually restricted to 133-7 off their 20 overs thanks to Shafiqul’s crucial 2-16 off four overs.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman (2-33 from four overs) and Mehedi Hasan Rana (2-15 from three overs) bowled well in support while Dwayne Bravo also had 1-26 from his four overs.
Fortune Barishal will now advance to the final which will be played on Friday while Comilla will have another opportunity to get there when they play the Chattogram Challengers in the second qualifier on Wednesday.
West Indies T20 star Chris Gayle stroked an unbeaten half-century and was backed up by stingy death bowling from Dwayne Bravo as Fortune Barishal eased to a 12-run win over Sylhet Sunrisers in the Bangladesh Premier League on Tuesday.
Gayle’s 51 from 45 balls provided the backbone for Fortune, who posted a formidable 199 for 4 after being sent in to bat. The team was off to a solid start after the big left-hander formed part of an opening stand with Munim Shahriar to put 72 on the board. The partnership was broken after Shahriar was bowled by Sohag Gazi for 51.
Wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan then joined Gayle at the crease but was dismissed after just four balls for 2. Barishal captain Shakib Al Hasan then joined the West Indian to push the score along, adding 38 from just 19 balls before being caught off Alauddin Babu.
Towhid Hridoy added 10 before Bravo joined Gayle at the crease and added an unbeaten 34 off 13, as the two put on 42 for the last wicket.
In response, the Sunrisers made a game of the total after opener Collin Ingram put on a brilliant 90 from 49. Bravo, however, continued to feature prominently throughout the match, claiming a catch at long-on off Najmul Hossain Shanto to dismiss Ingram and ending the late innings resistance of Mosaddek Hossain, who had 34 from 21, in the final over. Bravo successfully defended 24 for the last over.
The win was the 6th for Barishal who top the table with 13 points.
Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo’s Fortune Barishal suffered their second straight loss, this time at the hands of the Comilla Victorians, as action in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) continued Tuesday in Mirpur.
After winning the toss and electing to field first, Fortune Barishal thought they held the Victorians to a manageable target when they restricted them to 158-7 off their 20 overs.
Bangladesh test opener Mahmudul Hasan Joy was the main scorer for the Victorians with 48, while Afghanistan all-rounder Karim Janat supported well with 29.
Bravo was the pick of the Barishal bowlers with 3-30 off his four overs, while captain Shakib Al Hasan took 2-25 off his four.
Barishal’s reply never truly got out of first gear with only three batsmen reaching double figures on their way to being bowled out for just 95 in 17.3 overs, losing by 63 runs.
Najmul Hosain Shanto (36), Towhid Hridoy (19), and Nurul Hasan (17) were the only batsmen to pass 10.
Gayle, who batted at number five, could only manage seven before he was dismissed by man-of-the-match, Nahidul Islam.
Islam was the pick of the bowlers for Comilla with a miserly 3-5 off four overs, while Tanvir Islam, Janat, and Shohidul Islam all took two wickets each.
Comilla Victorians now have two wins from two games to sit at the top of the table while Fortune Barishal sits third with one win and two losses.
A strong all-around performance from Andre Russell helped Minister Group Dhaka to their first win in the Bangladesh Premier League on Monday when they defeated Fortune Barishul by four wickets at Mirpur.
Veteran all-rounder Dwyane Bravo will join fellow West Indian Chris Gayle at Fortune Barishal for the upcoming Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) after replacing Sri Lanka's Danushka Gunathilaka.
Gunathilaka was forced to pull out of the tournament after he failed to receive a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).
In addition to Gayle, who will be playing for the franchise for the third time, the franchise has also added another two Caribbean players. Pace bowlers Alzarri Joseph and Obed Mccoy will also be joining the team.
The 38-year-old Bravo, who retired from international cricket following the ICC T20 World Cup earlier this year, has previously represented the Chittagong Kings, Comilla Victorians, and Dhaka Dynamites in the BPL.
The competition, which is scheduled to bowl off on January 21, will be played across three cities and will feature 6 teams.
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