Home ›› 10 Feb 2023 ›› Sport
Rangpur Riders and Comilla Victorians will face off today in a fight to finish the league stage of the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League among the first two spots.
Teams qualifying as first and second will face in the first qualifier, where the winner will head to the final, while the losing team will face the winner of the eliminator.
This means the top two teams will have two opportunities to reach the final, while the third and fourth-placed sides will be knocked out if they lose once in the playoffs.
Sylhet Strikers, who currently sit on top of the points table, are already confirmed to play in the first qualifier, while Fortune Barishal are set to finish outside the top two.
Both Rangpur and Comilla have 16 points from their 11 games, two points behind Sylhet, who have already played out their league stage matches.
The winner of the tie between Rangpur and Comilla will thus end second unless either win by a big margin to overtake Sylhet on net run rate.
Comilla have already strengthened their side with the signings of Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, with the former already playing a match-winning knock during their last match against Barishal.
They still have Mohammad Rizwan in their ranks to count on and with him set to leave after this match, they will hope that the Pakistani batter helps them achieve a place in the top two.
However, Rangpur have done some work on their squad too. They signed up Afghan batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz after Barishal let go of the player and his signing has already paid off with him playing a good knock in their last match against Chattogram Challengers.
They have also brought in Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who is a known big hitter, and are in talks to sign a few other big names in T20 cricket such as Dasun Shanaka.
Rangpur skipper Nurul Hasan Sohan was optimistic ahead of their clash against Comilla.
“If we can beat Comilla, we can be in the top two. And I think we will definitely try to take that opportunity. Everybody will try to give their 100 per cent. The players have been talking about this for the last week or so. So, the boys are very ready,” he said after their match against Chattogram on Wednesday.
Nurul added, “In the last three-four matches, we have all known that every match is very important. Or course the game on the 10th (against Comilla) is crucial. We will just try to give our best.”
Both teams are coming into this tie with great form behind their back as Comilla have won eight successive games after three defeats in their first three matches, while Rangpur have won six on the trot.
Barishal seek consolation
Barishal will take on Khulna Tigers in their ultimate league stage match today, but they have no stakes going into the match.
They have already qualified for the final four but are out of contention for a top-two berth, meaning no result can change their fate, which is to play in the eliminator.
Shakib Al Hasan & co will hope to find some momentum ahead of the match as they have lost three out of their last five matches, pushing them downwards in the table.
On the flip side, Khulna have the chance to finish the tournament on a high as they are currently bottom with a very disappointing campaign which produced only two wins in 11 matches.
