Published on 10:29 PM, February 12, 2023

Comilla down Sylhet to cement a spot in BPL final 

Photo: Firoz Ahmed

Comilla Victorians extended their victory run with a four-wicket win over Sylhet Strikers in the first Qualifier of the Bangladesh Premier League to cement a spot in the grand finale of the tournament at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

A tenth victory on the trot for Comilla means that they will face the winner of the second Qualifier between Sylhet Strikers and Rangpur Riders in the final on February 16.

Defending champions Comilla were able to bundle out Sylhet for a subpar total of 125, courtesy of Tanvir Islam, Andre Russel, and Mustafizur Rahman who took two wickets each.

Najmul Hossain Shanto top-scored with a 29-ball 38 for Sylhet, and skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza smashed two sixes and two fours after coming up the order as a pinch-hitter. Mushfiqur Rahim looked good for his 22-ball 29 but he too couldn't make it count in what largely was an underwhelming effort that saw them get bowled out for 125 with 17 balls remaining.

In reply, Comilla opener Sunil Narine took a liking to the bowlers and smashed four sixes and three fours scoring an 18-ball 31 to set the tone for the chase before he was castled by Tanzim Hasan Sakib.

Mosaddek scored a steady run-a-ball 27 and Russell scored 15 runs off 10 balls to finish proceedings taking Comilla to consecutive BPL final.

Sylhet's Rubel Hossain scalped three wickets for 33 runs.