Dhaka , December 14 : Both Comilla Victorians and Barisal Bulls will be looking to have a substantial contribution from batsman as they face each other for the all important Bangladesh Premier League final at the Sher e Bangla stadium on Tuesday . The siade that bats well will have a chance to dominate the final. More importantly, given the way these two teams have fought through the league stage and the qualifiers, the final has the promise of a far better contest than the one-sided matches in 2012 and 2013.
Comilla have been dogged by injuries throughout their BPL 2015-16 campaign, but still managed to reach the final with a convincing win over Rangpur Riders in the first qualifier. Mashrafe Mortaza’s inspirational leadership has certainly helped, along with Abu Hider’s 21 wickets, Ashar Zaidi’s all-round show, and match-winning efforts from Imrul Kayes, Shoaib Malik and Nuwan Kulasekara.
Mashrafe has struggled with his hamstring injury but bowled well off a short run-up in the first qualifier. His batting, too, could come in handy. Their catching, particularly that of Shuvagata Hom, has also been a key factor in reaching this far in the competition.
Barisal on the other hand have momentum on their side, having won their last four games. They have been led well by Mahmudullah, whose batting has always been the anchor of the line-up. Rony Talukdar’s form may be worrying but Sabbir Rahman’s return to form is encouraging. Kevon Cooper, Mohammad Sami and Al-Amin Hossain have combined perfectly as a pace-bowling unit while Mahmudullah has been shrewd in his use of spinners Seekkuge Prasanna and Taijul Islam, whenever necessary. Their fielding will have to be electric if they are to stop Comilla.
The final could also decide the highest wicket-taker of this season with only one wicket separating Hider and Cooper (20).