Dhaka face Rangpur in BPL final today
Rangpur beat Comilla by 36 runs
Sports Reporter
Johnson Charles hit his maiden T20 century and Brendan McCullum smashed a six-filled 46 ball-78 to amass 192 runs and anchor Rangpur Riders 36-run victory over Comilla Victorians. The win also took the side to the final of the fifth edition of Bangladesh Premier League. Dhaka Dynamites, the champions of the 2016 BPL, will look to lift the title for the second successive time as they will take on Rangpur Riders in the exciting final clash of the BPL Twenty20 Tournament today. The night fixture of the four-six laden tournament will be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNCS) at 6:00pm. Coming off in the knock-out phase as a group leader, showing a great consistency, Comilla stumbled twice in this phase to dig their own grave. They were forced to play the second qualifier after being crushed by Dhaka Dynamites in the first qualifier by 96 runs, but the luck
and their silly mistakes in bowling, fielding cost them the game. Charless 63-ball 105, complemented by McCullums first significant contribution in the tournament, helped Rangpur compile a hefty 192 for three, leaving Comilla needing the highest chase of the BPL history in their course to the final. Despite a fluent start, Comilla lost too many wickets half-way through the innings and eventually were shot out for 156 in the stipulated 20 overs.
While a century was elusive in the whole group phase, the BPL saw two centuries in the knock-out phase with Charless compatriot and teammate Chris Gayle showing the way with a blistering 51 ball-126 not out in the Eliminator game against Khulna Titans. Rangpur was at 55 for the loss of Gayles wicket as the rain interrupted the proceeding of the game on Sunday. Comilla was set to go through the final according to the bylaws, but for the greater interest of the tournament, the governing council, with the consent of the two teams captain and owners, decided to resume the game from where it was finished.
Charles was instrumental in setting the platform after the departure of Gayle and finally remained unbeaten on 105 off 63 in which he hit nine fours and seven sixes. However, McCullum, who so far hadnt had any significant performance under his belt, came up with fire when it mattered most. His innings, studded with nine sixes and one four, literally kept Comilla at bay right from the restart of the game.
Charles, resuming the day on 46, was watchful and looked a happy spectator when McCullum was on fire. The duo however added 151 off just 89 balls before McCullum lost his wicket, trying for his 10th six against Hasan Ali. Charles then came out from the shell and completed his century with a boundary past point in the penultimate delivery of the game.
In pursuit of a big total, Tamim Iqbal led the way with quickfire 19-ball 36 as Comilla kept them on course of the unlikely victory. However, Rangpur hit back after Tamim holed out one to mid-off, in Mashrafes bowling and five balls later Imrul Kayess rash shot got the better of him. Rangpur then curbed the aggression of the batsmen to stem the run flow, which resulted in the wicket of Shoaib Malik (10) and Liton Das, who hit 39. The asking run rate climbed up alarmingly, leaving Joss Buttler and Marlon Samuels in a position for doing some miracle that was not to be. Buttler made 26 and Samuels scored 27. Rubel Hossain claimed three for 34 for Rangpur.
