Barishal, Chittagong vie for coveted BPL trophy tomorrow

Dhaka, 6 Feb -In a bid to retain the title, Fortune Barishal will 
take on Chittagong Kings in the grand final of the Bangladesh Premier League 
(BPL) tomorrow (Friday) at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. The match 
starts at 7 PM.

Tamim Iqbal-led Barishal is considered as outright favourite for the second 
consecutive title after showing a consistent performance throughout the 
tournament.

If Barishal can retain the title, they will be the third team after Dhaka and 
Comilla franchise to win more than one BPL trophy. Both Dhaka and Comilla 
franchise won BPL trophy thrice.

Rangpur, Rajshahi and Barishal are the other three teams apart from the duo 
to clinch BPL trophy. Chittagong Kings moved to the final only once that too 
in 2013 but lost to eventual champions Dhaka Gladiators. 

They would have to overcome a very strong team to secure their maiden BPL 
title. 

Barishal ended the group phase as top topper after winning nine from 12 
matches. In Qualifier-1 game too, they won with ease to confirm the final 
straightway.

Out of three, they conceded two defeats to Rangpur Riders and one against 
eventual finalist Chittagong Kings. 

However Barishal and Chittagong faced off thrice before the final with the 
Tamim-led side winning two, including the Qualifer-1. In the first-leg match, 
Barishal beat Chittagong by six wickets before tasting defeat in the second-
leg match by 24 runs.

While Barishal ended as table topper, Chittagong finished at second spot, 
courtesy to their victory against Barishal in the last match of the group. 
But in Qualifer-1, the match turned out to be a mismatch with Bairshal just 
crushing them by nine wickets in a one-sided contest.

Chittagong then had to play the Qualifier-2 game in which they faced off 
Khulna Tigers, the team which won the Eliminator game against Rangpur Riders. 
The Qualifier-2 game turned out to be the best match in this season with 
Chittagong prevailing in the thrilling contest by two wickets, confirming the 
victory in the last ball.

Khulna posted a decent 163-6 after recovering from a shaky start and 
Chittagong looked to win the game with ease. But the team of the port city 
experienced a collapse, halfway through the chase, leaving them a requirement 
of 15 runs for a victory in the last over.

Tailenders Arafat Sunny and Aliss Al Islam did the unthinkable with the later 
confirming the victory, smashing a four in the last ball.

The nerve-wrecking victory is believed to lift their confidence ahead of the 
final against a team, that has all ingredients to be champions.
 

BPL History: Winners & Runners-up 
 

Year  Winner           Runners-up

2024 Fortune Barishal   Comilla Victorians

2023 Comilla Victorians Sylhet Strikers

2022 Comilla Victorians Fortune Barishal

2019-20 Rajshahi Royals Khulna Tigers

2018 Comilla Victorians Dhaka Dynamites

2017 Rangpur Riders    Dhaka Dynamites

2016 Dhaka Dynamites  Rajshahi Kings

2015 Comilla Victorians Barisal Bulls

2013 Dhaka Gladiators  Chittagong Kings

2012 Dhaka Gladiators  Barisal Burner.bss