We have reached the business end of the Bangladesh Premier League and in the final fixture, we will see Comilla Victorians coming face to face with Fortune Barishal. The fixture is scheduled to take place on Friday at Sher-e-Bangla Stadium.
Comilla Victorians played some quality cricket this year as well and finished the league stage by being in the 2nd spot. They defeated the table toppers Rangpur Riders in the 1st Qualifier to reach the final fixture.
Fortune Barishal finished the league stage at the 3rd spot but stunned everyone with their performance in the playoff stage. They overpowered Rangpur Riders in the 2nd Qualifier to reach the final game.
They have a good depth in their top order with Towid Hridoy and Litton Das playing at an average of 40.64 and 28.85.
The betting tip is...
Comilla Victorians will score more runs in the 1st Powerplay.
Comilla Victorians had a good run this year as well as they scored a win in 8 fixtures during the league stage and maintained their net run rate at +1.149. This year, the franchise has a chance to lift the BPL trophy for the third consecutive time and hence the team will be motivated to clinch the title.
On the batting front, they have Towid Hridoy who is the 2nd highest scorer in the league with 447 runs in 13 matches at an average of 40.64. Litton Das started slow in the league but soon picked up the pace and became the 2nd highest scorer for the team with 375 runs in 13 matches at an average of 28.85.
On the bowling front, the Victorians will be dependent on Tanvir Islam for a string start. He is the highest wicket-taker in the team with 13 wickets in 12 fixtures at an economy of 7.42. Mustafizur Rahman has also contributed with 11 wickets in 9 games but he needs to keep a check on his economy.
Towhid Hridoy, Johnson Charles, and Tanvir Islam are the key players in the team.
Predicted Lineup: Sunil Narine, Johnson Charles, Litton Das (c & wk), Towhid Hridoy, Mahidul Islam Ankon, Moeen Ali, Andre Russell, Jaker Ali, Tanvir Islam, Rohanat Doullah Borson, Musfik Hasan
Fortune Braishal scored a comfortable win against the table toppers Rangpur Riders in the 2nd Qualifier and raised their hope to lift the BPL 2024 trophy. The onus for the win goes to the bowling unit as they controlled the game since the start.
James Fuller picked up 3 wickets at an economy of 6.25 in 4 overs. Mohammad Saifuddin scalped a duo in 4 overs at an economy of 6.75. Kyle Mayers and Mehidy Hasan Miraz contributed with a single wicket each.
The batters were calm and composed and there was no pressure at all. However, the top order still struggled to score runs as the team lost its first 2 wickets at a score of 22 runs. Mushfiqur Rahim scored 47 off 38 in the middle order with Kyle Mayers scoring 28 off 15 as his partner.
Tamim Iqbal, Kyle Mayers, and Mushfiqur Rahim are the key players in the team.
Predicted Lineup: Tamim Iqbal (c), Kyle Mayers, Soumya Sarkar, David Miller, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, James Fuller, Mohammad Saifuddin, Obed McCoy, Taijul Islam
We are in for an absolute thriller between the two teams. These two teams met in the final fixture of BPL 2022 as well and the Victorians came out as the winners. This year, Fortune Barishal did play well in the qualifier round but they have not been consistent during the league and hence clouds of inconsistency are still looming on the team.
Comilla Victorians have performed consistently in the league and their players have performed exceptionally well. We predict a win for Comilla Victorians on Friday.