Last Updated on 7 years by Charbel Coorey
Exciting times in Bangladesh with the finals of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) finally here.
Four good teams make up the final four of the BPL. Comilla Victorians, Dhaka Dynamites, Khulna Titans and Rangpur Riders will all feel they have a shot at winning the tournament. After all, anything can happen in the T20 format, and it promises to be an exciting finals series with the first eliminator beginning on Friday.
Here is an in-depth look at how each team in the final four has a chance of winning the tournament.
Comilla Victorians
Top the table. Need we say more?
9 wins in 12 matches has put Comilla just one game away from the BPL Final. It’s been a team effort by Comilla in the tournament, with no players standing out in the batting and bowling rankings for the tournament. Their best ranked player is Mohammad Saifuddin, who has taken 15 wickets and sits third in the wicket taking list.
Marlon Samuels and Imrul Kayes have been in solid form for the Victorians, and how could you ignore international stars Tamim Iqbal, Jos Buttler, Shoaib Malik and Hasan Ali? What is scary for opposition teams is that Buttler and Ali have even more to offer – especially Buttler who has had a number of low scores in a row. He’s a quality player, and the big games could really bring the best out of him.
Comilla have a good balance in their team – batsmen who can score quickly, seamers who can restrict the runs and spinners who can take wickets – and can definitely go all the way in BPL 2017.
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| Marlon Samuels has a good track record in big T20 games. |
Dhaka Dynamites
Ah… The team that has my favourite cricketer… Shakib Al Hasan.
I’ll try not to be too biased here but there is lots to like about Dhaka, and a massive showdown against Comilla awaits.
Dhaka possess three of the top seven wicket takers in the tournament – Shakib (1st), Abu Hider (3rd), Shahid Afridi (7th) and the 2nd highest run scorer Evin Lewis (334 runs). Lewis has been a real fine pick up for Dhaka. His strike rate of 160.57 makes him a very dangerous player for the finals. Out of players with at least 200 runs in the tournament, this strike rate is second best.
A possible concern for Dhaka is their thin batting line up. A lot rests on Shakib and Kieron Pollard. Evidence in the last game, where they were 48/5, suggests that they need to get their batting right. If they can get their batting right, Dhaka’s spin attack can lead them to BPL glory. Sunil Narine and Shahid Afridi, in addition to Shakib is a great spin attack. Then add Pakistan star Mohammad Amir and 3rd highest BPL wicket taker Abu Hider and Dhaka have a really threatening all-round attack.
Dhaka’s net run rate of 1.631 is easily the best in the tournament, which shows they can win big. Can they score the runs required when it counts?
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| Shakib hit a great 47* and took 2/13 in his last game |
Khulna Titans
Khulna would have been hoping for a Dhaka loss in the last game so they finish in that all-important second spot. It wasn’t to be.
Without possessing some of the big names that the other teams have, Khulna have done really well to finish where they have. Their best ranked performer is Abu Jayed, the medium pacer, with 18 wickets (2nd ranked wicket taker). However, his economy rate of 9.05 needs to improve. On the batting front, Mahmudullah sits 7th in the BPL batting charts with 292 runs. He is such an important player for the finals.
With just two Khulna players in the top 15 run scorers and wicket takers, it has been a real team effort, like Comilla Victorians. Khulna, however, will be hoping for plenty from Carlos Brathwaite, the man who famously hit all those sixes against Ben Stokes to win the World T20 last year for West Indies.
Khulna don’t possess the biggest names in world cricket but have played good cricket to get here, and can’t be written off. A big eliminator awaits.
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| Can Carlos Brathwaite go big in the finals? |
Rangpur Riders
Khulna’s opponents for the big eliminator on Friday.
Rangpur have disappointed somewhat in this tournament. They finished with 6 wins and 6 losses. Compared to Khulna, they have bigger names in their side, namely Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum, who are devastating T20 cricketers but haven’t quite reached their peak yet.
What is encouraging for Rangpur though is they have two batsmen in the top five run scorers in the BPL. Ravi Bopara leads the run scoring charts, with a fine tally of 365 runs at a great average of 45.62. Mohammad Mithun sits 5th, with just one more run needed to reach 300 runs.
Can Rangpur’s batting line up click and score big? Do they have enough bowling strength to lead them to BPL glory? What impact will the Bangladesh legend Mashrafe Mortaza have? It remains to be seen.
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| Can McCullum and Mashrafe deliver for Rangpur? |
Prediction:
All four sides have cases as to why they will be BPL 2017 champions.
Comilla and Rangpur have played well as a team, while Dhaka and Rangpur have the big names.
When you consider the conditions, spinners will play an important role. I look at Dhaka’s spin attack and it is really impressive. If their batting can click, Dhaka will be really hard to beat, as they have the firepower with the ball. I predict them to win the whole tournament.
Agree or disagree? Leave a comment!
