Comilla 2022 BPL champions after winning thrilling final against Barishal

The Imrul Kayes-led Comilla Victorians got the better of Fortune Barishal in the final of the eighth edition of the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). By beating Barishal by just one run in an absolute cliffhanger of a match, Comilla lifted the title for the third time.

It was Imrul's second BPL title as captain. It was Barishal's game to lose for the most part but Imrul made some effective bowling changes and his field placing was top-notch to take the game deep. Sunil Narine was outstanding with the bat and gave his team a real chance with the ball to defend the total before Mustafizur Rahman and Shohidul Islam held their nerves to defend 16 off the last two overs. 

Narine's 18th over that yielded the wicket of Dwayne Bravo and the partnership between Moeen Ali and Abu Hider Rony turned out to be the major turning points.

Narine started from where he left off in the second qualifier against Chattogram Challengers. Narine's sublime hitting gave Comilla another flying start (36 for none after two). Shakib Al Hasan brought himself on in the third over and cleaned up Litton Das with a trademark arm-ball. The wicket stemmed the run flow momentarily but Narine was in the mood again.

Before getting out in the sixth over, the southpaw reached his fifty off just 21 balls. It was his second consecutive half-century inside the powerplay. Narine, like the previous match, preferred the extra-cover region to smash the spinners. He struck a maximum off Mehedi Hasan Rana's first ball but mistimed the next ball and holed out. Narine made 57 off 23 with the help of five fours and as many sixes. 

Mahmudul Hasan Joy was run-out shortly after and Comilla were 73 for three from 69 for one.

Mujeeb-ur-Rahman returned to outwit Faf du Plessis in the 9th over. Imrul Kayes and Ariful Haque got out in successive overs, leaving them reeling at 95 for six. 

Barishal bowlers dried up the boundaries and Moeen Ali and Abu Hider Rony knocked it around for a few overs. There was only one boundary between the 10th and 16th over but most importantly the duo kept their wickets intact.

Moeen found his first boundary in the 17th over and then hit another one and a maximum to help Comilla post a decent total. Rony, in his innings of 19 off 27, hit a four and a six. He added an important 53 off 51 after his team was in tatters. Moeen scored 38 off 32.

Three wickets fell in the final over and Comilla posted 151 for nine. Mujeeb was the pick of the bowlers with two for 27 despite conceding 18 off the first over. Shafiqul Islam picked up two in the 20th over. Shakib, Dwayne Bravo and Rana took one apiece. 

In response, the in-form Munim Shahriar was dismissed for a seven-ball duck. Shykat Ali, who replaced Ziaur Rahman in the XI, put on quite an exhibition and made Chris Gayle take a backseat. Shykat hit a flurry of boundaries on both sides of the wicket. The right-hander showed great muscle power, flicked and pulled well and used his feet against the spinners. 

He brought up his fifty off just 26 balls, his third in his T20 career. Before getting out, Shykat added 74 off 8.3 overs with Gayle. The former contributed 58 on the stand. When he was dismissed, Barishal required 73 off 62 balls with eight wickets in hand.

Gayle opened up his shoulders after Shykat's dismissal by hitting two sixes and a four but got out in the 13th over after scoring 33. Shakib went back cheaply in the 15th over and Nurul Hasan was run-out in the 17th over.

Sunil Narine bowled a terrific 18th over to bring Barishal back into the game. He just gave away two runs and got the wicket of Bravo. Mustafizur Rahman got Shanto out leg-before with a slower ball out of the back of the hand and the equation was 16 off 10 then with just three wickets in hand.

Shohidul Islam conceded five off his first four deliveries defending 10 in the last over. Tanvir Islam dropped Hridoy in the penultimate delivery of the match but Shohidul held his nerves to defend three of the last ball to give his team a one-run win.