Three weeks on and the Bangladesh Premier League has entered its final and arguably most exciting phase. From six teams, the battle will now be fought between the last four: Comilla Vikings, Rangpur Riders, Barisal Bulls and Dhaka Dynamites.
While the top two teams, Comilla and Rangpur, will face-off in the first qualifier, Barisal will take on Dhaka in Eliminator One. Both the matches will be played tomorrow after a well deserved day’s rest from a competition that understandably lacked runs, which are the heart of any glamorous T20 competition.
However, the best parts of the competition have been the surprises that it has sprung. Prior to the start of the tournament, Sylhet and Chittagong were considered the two top draws but they failed to progress past the initial round.
However, captain Tamim Iqbal summed up Chittagong Vikings’ early exit perfectly, saying: “One can buy players, but not performance.”
At the end of the day, the teams which put in the best all-round efforts made it through to the final four and Mashrafe Bin Mortaza’s Comilla Victorians and Mahmudullah Riyad’s Barsial Bulls are the best examples.
Comilla didn’t have too many big names at the start of the competition, but what eventually counted was the collective effort that they showed in the last three weeks.
There were some great individual performances throughout the tournament, but most of those innings were undone by collective failures.
However, when the next round begins, the limelight will be hogged by star attraction Chris Gayle. After two dismal performances, he warmed up for the next round with a brilliant unbeaten 92. The Barisal Bulls will no doubt be buoyed by the presence of the big man.
The Dynamites just haven’t been able to perform to their capabilities due to poor batting. They have got a star-studded bowling line-up with the likes of Mustafizur Rahman and Yasir Shah, but they must also bat well if they wish to make it further. After all, they can’t depend on Kumar Sangakkara all the time.
With the conclusion of the initial phase, we hope that the next round will make-up for the lack of runs throughout the tournament. And with Gayle around, one can always expect fireworks.
Source: The Daily Star
