Home ›› 03 Feb 2022 ›› Sport
The first half of the ongoing Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League 2022 is done, and the points table has started to shape up with Fortune Barishal at the top, whereas Sylhet Sunrisers languish at the bottom.
Barishal have played six matches in this BPL and won four out of them, meaning they now have eight points and the top spot in the bag. They made the best out of the Chattogram phase, winning all three games they played at the port city.
Their bowling attack looks sharp with the likes of Shakib Al Hasan, Dwayne Bravo, and Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, and with Shakib returning to form with the bat in the last couple of matches, they currently look like the team to beat in the league.
Comilla, who have played only four games, sit second on the points table with six points from three matches. They have only lost one match, their latest match against Minister Dhaka, and will have plenty of chances to ensure a playoff spot.
They will also be reinforced with the likes of Moeen Ali and Sunil Narine, with the former arriving in Bangladesh on Wednesday. They will join the likes of Faf Du Plessis, Cameron Delport, Liton Das, and Mustafizur Rahman, and with the stars aligned, Comilla will look for a place in the top two going forward.
Sylhet, on the other hand, sit on the wrong side of the table as they have only one win from their four matches. They have six in hand, but their lack of firepower makes them candidate number one for early elimination.
Minister Dhaka and Chattogram Challengers currently have three wins each, but the latter has already played seven matches, with only three in hand. While Dhaka still have four matches to secure a playoff spot, Chattogram have less time in hand with many problems.
They already faced controversy after Mehidy Hasan Miraz was removed from captaincy as the all-rounder refused to play for them. The situation was later brought under control and Miraz decided to continue, but since then, their on-field display has been dismal.
Khulna Tigers sit second-bottom in the table with four points from five matches, but they have time in their hand with half of their matches remaining. With Mushfiqur Rahim, Andre Fletcher, Yasir Ali Chowdhury, and Thisara Perera on their side, they are likely to reach the playoffs despite sitting near the bottom at this point.
Tamim, Shakib star
Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan are currently leading the charts in the BPL as the former is the highest run-scorer to date, whereas the Barishal skipper has picked up the most wickets.
Tamim has 262 runs in six innings, including two fifties and a hundred. He is scoring at an average of 52.40, along with a strike rate of 135.75.
He is followed by Chattogram opener Will Jacks, who has scored 223 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of 159.28. He has two fifties and has been Chattogram’s source for fiery starts.
Bangladesh and Dhaka skipper Mahmudullah Riyad is at three with 194 runs, including one fifty.
Shakib has been in fine form with the ball as he already has 10 wickets in six matches. He has an economy of just 4.76, the third-lowest in the ongoing edition.
Barishal’s Dwayne Bravo and Khulna’s Kamrul Islam Rabbi also have 10 wickets each, with the Chattogram trio of Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, and Shoriful Islam having nine each.
Comilla’s Nahidul Islam, who has eight wickets in four matches, has been the cheapest bowler in the tournament so far. He has given away only 4.12 runs per over and has picked up eight wickets besides that.
