Comilla Victorians won their fourth BPL title in style, beating Sylhet Strikers by seven wickets in the 2023 final of the franchise-based T20 tournament.
Sylhet Strikers, who were sent in to bat first, picked up 18 runs in the first over but quickly lost in-form opener Towhid Hridoy for a duck and their inspirational captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza for just 1 run, who promoted himself up the order.
They appeared to be struggling as the scores read 48 for 2 after seven overs. However, opener Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mushfiqur Rahim built a partnership and raced to a hundred inside twelve overs, with Shanto bringing up his fifty in the process.
Shanto eventually got out at 64, but Mushfiqur ensured Sylhet reached a challenging total of 175 for 7 after 20 overs.
In the chase, Comilla openers Liton Das and Sunil Narine got off to a flying start, scoring 20 runs off Tanzim Hasan Sakib’s second over. However, Sakib picked up the crucial wicket of Narine, who had been pivotal in Comilla winning the BPL last year.
Skipper Imrul Kayes soon followed suit, removed by George Linde. The South African all-rounder went on to stifle the scoring rate, conceding only 11 runs in his first three overs.
However, Litton then combined with Johnson Charles, and the pair brought up Comilla’s century after 12 overs, while Litton brought up his fifty off 36 deliveries. Litton’s innings, however, perished right after, courtesy of a well-judged catch at the deep from Najmul Hossain Shanto after the stylish Bangladesh batter mistimed a pull shot off Rubel Hossain to become his second victim.
Moeen Ali then joined Charles in the middle, and the English star immediately got going, striking consecutive boundaries through the cover off right-arm fast bowler Sakib. With 60 required off six overs with seven wickets in hand, Comilla had the advantage.
In the end, Charles ripped apart the Sylhet bowlers and ended the game in a hurry with a flurry of sixes, while Moeen stayed not out on 25.
According to SportNews BD experts, it was a dominant performance by Comilla Victorians, who defended their BPL title in 2023. Johnson Charles was the star of the show, with a blistering unbeaten 52-ball 79, which helped Comilla secure a comprehensive victory over the Sylhet Strikers.