Comilla Victorians Thursday beat Sylhet Strikers by seven wickets to win a record fourth Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) title in Mirpur.
The Victorians' made a world record after winning 11 straight matches to defend their title. No team has ever won a T20 tournament title this way.
Ahead of today's final, Comilla had played three BPL finals and never suffered a defeat.
Also, before this match, Sylhet Strikers captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza had led his teams in four BPL finals and never lost a match. So, it was a battle for both the Victorians and Mashrafe to establish their place in BPL final history, which Mashrafe ultimately lost in front of a packed gallery in Mirpur.
Litton Das and Johnson Charles were the main architects of the Victorians' victory, each hitting a fifty. While Litton fell for 55, Charles remained unbeaten on 79 off 52 balls with seven fours and five sixes.
Comilla got off to a blistering start while chasing 176. Openers Litton and Sunil Narine scored 27 runs in just 2.2 overs. However, their opening stand was short-lived as Narine was dismissed by Rubel Hossain after scoring 10 runs off just five balls with a boundary and a six.
In the next over, Imrul Kayes was dismissed for just two runs. After these two quick wickets, Johnson and Litton added 70 runs off 57 balls in their third wicket partnership, which kept the Victorians' title hopes alive.
Litton eventually fell for 55 after Najmul Hossain Shanto took a remarkable catch at the boundary. In the 15th and 16th, George Linde and Luke Wood conceded only three and five runs, respectively, making the job of the Victorians much tougher.
However, during the 17th over bowled by Rubel, Charles smashed three sixes and one four; and the Victorians needed only 29 runs off the last 18 balls.
The Victorians reached the target of 176 with seven wickets and four balls to spare.
Earlier, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mushfiqur Rahim, both of whom scored a fifty each, helped Sylhet Strikers post 175-7 in 20 overs against Comilla Victorians in the final of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2023 at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium Thursday.
Comilla's fielders were surprisingly sloppy, conceding at least 25-30 runs due to misfielding and dropped catches.
Towhid Hridoy, who hit five fifties in this BPL, made a duck. Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, captain of Sylhet, came to bat at number three, as he did in the second qualifier. But this time the plan did not work for him.
So, the onus was on Shanto and Mushfiqur to rescue their team. And the duo added 79 runs off 56 balls in the third wicket stand.
Shanto hit nine fours and a six in his 45-ball 64. He was dismissed by Moeen Ali in the 13th over, leaving Sylhet at 105-3.
Mushfiqur continued to anchor the innings. He remained unbeaten on 74 off 48 balls, with five fours and three sixes. He added 29 runs with Ryan Burl (13), who was caught by Mosaddek Hossain off Mustafizur Rahman in the 16th over.
George Linde (9) hit a four before being caught by Litton Das off Mustafizur in the 18th over. Zakir Hasan (1) was run out by Moeen Ali in the penultimate over.
Tanzim Hasan Sakib joined Mushfiqur for the last four balls and remained not out for zero.
For Comilla, Mustafizur was the most successful bowler, grabbing two wickets for 31 runs in four overs. Moeen Ali, Tanvir Islam, Sunil Narine, and Andre Russell took one wicket each.
Source: United News of Bangladesh