Blockbuster Chattogram phase lifts BPL gloom

After three quite underwhelming phases (two Dhaka and one Sylhet) in terms of runs, the 12-game Chattogram phase was the 2024 Bangladesh Premier League's (BPL) last-ditch attempt to dish up some high-scoring affairs. 

The Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium (ZACS) in Chattogram is by far the fastest-scoring T20 ground in the country and given its reputation, the Chattogram phase promised great entertainment. The phase came to an end on Tuesday and it's safe to say the port city got to witness some spectacular cricket.

In the first game taking place in Chattogram, BPL's prodigal son Will Jacks, playing the tournament after a one-season gap, lit up the ZACS with a magnificent century and powered Comilla Victorians to 239-3 against Chattogram Challengers, the joint-highest in the history of the tournament. 

In the same match, England all-rounder Moeen Ali smashed a half-century and picked up a hat-trick in an unprecedented BPL feat. 

The match marked a great start to the Chattogram phase which had a run rate of 8.58, much higher than that in Dhaka (7.73) and Sylhet (7.47). 

The pitches there were ideal for T20 cricket and the head curator Zahid Reza Babu and BCB curator Tony Hemming were greatly appreciated by the broadcasters Athar Ali Khan and Aamir Sohail on Tuesday. 

The highlight of the phase was Shakib Al Hasan's superb all-round performance. Suffering from an eye issue, he had a difficult start to the tournament with the bat but turned a corner in Chattogram. 

The southpaw scored 184 runs at 46 in four matches there with a high strike-rate of 176.92. 

Another man who made a turnaround in Chattogram was national team opener Litton Das. Leading Comilla Victorians for the first time in this tournament, the classy right-hander looked out of sorts initially and had to face a lot of questions in press conferences regarding his batting form.

Litton made two half-centuries in four innings in the tournament's Chattogram phase and scored 190 runs striking at a decent 141.79.

But neither Shakib nor Litton was the most prolific batter of the Chattogram phase. 

It was the first full-fledged BPL season for the 23-year-old opener Tanzid Hasan and he grabbed the opportunity with both hands. The southpaw experienced an indifferent run of form in the 2023 World Cup but clearly showed his big-stage potential. 

Tanzid scored 240 runs in Chattogram for the home side, the Challengers, with a strike-rate of 153.84. He starred in Chattogram's last two playoff-ensuring wins with a fifty and a hundred, his first in the format. The left-hander is now the highest run-getter of the tournament as well and is not far away from earning a T20 recall.

The Chattogram phase saw two five-wicket hauls as well. Veteran leg-spinner Imran Tahir picked up five for 26 against Khulna Tigers. Tahir, who made his professional cricket debut way back in 1996/97 in Pakistan, returned to the BPL after a long hiatus to play for Rangpur Riders. 

The second fifer was attained by Tahir's Rangpur teammate Abu Hider, whose five for 12 was the best bowling performance by a local fast bowler. 

The phase saw an influx of more big-name T20 players. Fortune Barishal roped in the likes of Kyle Mayers, Keshav Maharaj and Tom Banton. Rangpur, who brought in James Neesham and Tahir before the Chattogram phase, signed Protea all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius.

Khulna Tigers had Alex Hales and Luke Wood play for them in Chattogram. After the end of the Australia-West Indies series and the ILT20, T20 superstars Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and Johnson Charles joined the Comilla camp. And Russell was at his brutal best in the final game of the phases, smashing 43* off 12 to power his team to a win. His strike-rate of 358.33 was the highest for a batter in an innings in the history of the BPL.

Local players performed fairly well in the phase with six Player of the Match awards going to them out of 12 matches. Just like the batting leaderboard, a host of local bowlers featured in the top wicket-takers' chart. 

Leg-spinner Rishad Hossain, who was impressive in New Zealand, was used by Comilla in all four Chattogram games on batting-friendly wickets and the tall tweaker passed the test with flying colours with six wickets at 12.5, getting a wicket every nine balls. He had an economy rate of 8.33. 

Taskin Ahmed and Tanzim Hasan Sakib took six wickets each although their teams, Durdanto Dhaka and Sylhet Strikers, were already out of the tournament. 

Chattogram hosted probably the game of the tournament so far where Rangpur beat Chattogram by one wicket in a last-ball thriller though the cricketing action was largely overshadowed by Shakib's celebration after Tamim Iqbal's wicket and Tamim's counter-celebration after Shakib's wicket and the fan war that followed in social media and outside the ground. 

The Chattogram phase brought some life back to the BPL and fans now will hope that the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur will provide them with a similarly enjoyable business end of the tournament.