A thirst for thrillers as BPL nears climax

After 40 matches played in the Bangladesh Premier League's (BPL) 10th instalment, with the last day of the group stage fixtures scheduled for today at Mirpur's Sher-e-Bangla National stadium, the intensity of the tournament in terms of the number of competitive matches materialised is an aspect worth scrutinising.

As the BPL began with low-scoring games in the first Dhaka leg, teams began to score challenging totals as the tournament moved to Sylhet, but fans had to wait until the 27th match to see a side post a 200-plus total as Rangpur amassed 211 for three against Chattogram before winning by 53 runs.

There have been three 200-plus scores so far, with Rangpur posting twice and Comilla scaling the joint-highest total in BPL history in Chattogram: 239 for three, courtesy of an unbeaten century from Will Jacks.

However, none of the matches in this edition of the BPL saw a last-ball finish, with teams winning comfortably, indicating a lack of competitiveness throughout the group stages.

In terms of individual performances by local players, there are a few positives as two of the three hundreds struck in this edition came from the willows of Tanzid Hasan Tamim and Towhid Hridoy. The duo are also the top two leading run-scorers in the BPL till date.

On the bowling front, Shoriful Islam is the leading wicket-taker with 22 scalps in 12 matches. Shakib Al Hasan, with 17 wickets to his name, could surpass Shoriful though. The leading all-rounder in ICC T20I rankings has also justified his reputation in the tournament, having tallied 249 runs so far and his strike-rate of 168.24 is the best among batters who scored more than 79 runs this edition.

While the tournament approaches the climax, perhaps the fans would expect every game to be no less than a nail-biter apart from seeing their favourite team or players achieve success.

As it stands, the lineup for the playoff stage is nearly finalised. Rangpur Riders lead the points table with 18 points in 12 games, while defending champion Comilla Victorians are second with 16 points in 11 games, with a possibility to complete the group stage in the top position if they beat Fortune Barishal.

Chattogram Challengers have also confirmed their playoff spot with 14 points in 12 games, and while Barishal leads Khulna Tigers by two points, a big win for Khulna over Sylhet Strikers and a comprehensive defeat for Barishal over Comilla could make things interesting as the net run-rate will come into the equation.

Highlights

*This BPL edition is yet to witness a fixture decided on the last ball.

*Only three 200-plus totals were posted in 40 matches, with Rangpur Riders reaching the total twice and Comilla Victorians once.

*Two of three centuries feature local cricketers.

*Both the run-getter and wicket-taker lists are dominated by Bangladesh players.