BPL final preview: Comilla's fifth or Barishal's first?

After 45 matches happening across almost six weeks in three cities, the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2024 final is upon us where two pre-tournament favourites Comilla Victorians and Fortune Barishal will lock horns on Friday at the country's home of cricket - the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur. 

Comilla are eyeing their third straight title while Barishal, a relatively new franchise, have made the final of the tournament for the second time but yet to lift the trophy. Comilla will field almost a similar side from the last final where they got the better of Sylhet Strikers in a last-over finish.

Barishal have been a fairly successful side, having reached the knockout stage in every tournament since their introduction in 2022. In their first two seasons, Barishal were led by Shakib Al Hasan but this year Tamim Iqbal replaced him as captain. 

Tamim has been in imperious form, notching up 453 runs so far in the tournament, the most by anyone. But Comilla's Towhid Hridoy is not far behind with 447 runs and most importantly the youngster strikes at just under 150,  43-ball-64 was instrumental in Comilla's win over Rangpur Riders in the first Qualifier. 

It will be Hridoy's third consecutive BPL final albeit for three different teams. On the previous two occasions, he was on the losing side. In 2022, he was there till the end but failed to finish the game for Barishal. He opened the innings for Sylhet last year but made a two-ball duck. He will be desperate to make amends this time.

Barishal will field an XI filled with local star players in the form of Tamim, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Soumya Sarkar, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam and Mohammad Saifuddin. They were down and out at one stage, losing three out of their first four matches, and many called them "a team of oldies", as pointed out by Mushfiqur after the second Qualifier. 

But they later bolstered their side with the likes of Kyle Mayers, David Miller and James Fuller, and the mid-tournament return of Saifuddin made a huge difference. He has a batting strike-rate of 185.3 batting lower down the order and most importantly, he is now his team's highest wicket-taker with 14 wickets at an economy rate of only 6.5 despite bowling extensively in the powerplay and slog overs.

But they will be slightly worried with the form of Obed McCoy, their designated death bowler. McCoy was belted for 26 runs in an over  by Shamim Hossain on Wednesday but Barishal will hope he will be back to his best in the final.

Death bowling will be a big concern for Comilla as well with an uncertainty around Mustafizur Rahman's availability. In his absence, young pace duo of Musfik Hasan and Rohanat Doullah Borson had to bowl at the death. Comilla leaked 71 runs in the last four overs in the first Qualifier and they will have their job cut out against Barishal finisher Miller.

Although Litton Das and Hridoy won the game against Rangpur on Monday, the overseas players - Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Johnson Charles and Moeen Ali - will have to play a big role in the final. 

Comilla have been the most successful side in the tournament with a win percentage of 63.33%. They have won the trophy every time they made the finals. On the other hand, Barishal have found some momentum, having won six out of their last seven games. 

The two teams have met twice in the tournament and both the games saw last-over finishes. Even the final of the previous edition had a last-over finish and fans will hope for another close encounter on Friday night.