Advisement
Another final before the final. Sylhet Strikers reached the BPL final for the first time after defeating Rangpur Riders by 19 runs in the second qualifier at Mirpur Sher-e Bangla Stadium on Tuesday. Their opponent in the final is Comilla.
It's like a changed Sylhet under the touch of Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, the most successful captain in BPL history. Where the franchise was at the bottom in the previous seasons, this time they are spreading light by the touch of a magician called Mashrafe. Sylhet has shown great power since the beginning of the season. This is the first time that the final is confirmed.
Mashrafe Bahini will fight against Comilla Victorians in the title fight on February 16.
Sylhet lost the toss and batted first in the second qualifier match. In the beginning, Shanta and Tauhid Hridyo gave a good start to the team. 65 runs came from their opening pair. Hasan Mahmud became a victim and departed by scoring a personal 25 runs.
Captain Mashrafe Mortaza, who dropped for three, tried to bat aggressively from the start. He forms a good pair with Shanta. Shant got out for 40 runs. Mashrafe scored 28 runs.
Zakir Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Ryan Burl did not get runs after coming down to the crease.
Thisara Perera struggled with George Linde after losing 6 wickets for 142 runs. In the end, Sylhet got a big collection in the pair of 36 runs of these two batters. Both scored 21 runs. The team scored 182 for 7 wickets.
While chasing the target of 183 runs, Rangpur was progressing with equal pace. But in the end they lost.
Rangpur's target was 33 runs off the last 18 balls. At the crease were two established batsmen Rony Talukder and captain Nurul Hasan Sohan. The margin of victory was heavy towards Rangpur.
But when Mashrafe was in the hands of the opponent, Sylhet fans were waiting for some glimpse.
In the 18th over, Mashrafe gave the ball to young Tanjim Shakib. He did not forget to repay the trust. In the same over, the young Turk brought Roni and Sohan back to Sajghar to bring out the match.
Then Dwayne Bravo and Sheikh Mehedira failed to come down to the crease. Rangpur only got 13 runs in the last 18 balls due to the failure of the batters! Sylhet left the field with a victory of 19 runs due to Mashrafe's brilliant captaincy and the welfare of the bowlers.
Desk Report / SH
