The 2023 Bangladesh Premier League has different teams that gave a strong start. Out of the first matches of the league, the Fortune Barishal VS Sylhet Strikers had the closest victory. Ending with a score of 196/4, the Sylhet Strikers had won by 6 wickets with 6 balls left.
The Fortune Barishal and Sylhet Strikers played the fourth match of the tournament. After winning against the Fortune Barishal, Sylhet Strikers is at number one in the standings with 4 points and no losses.
At the start of the match, Fortune Barishal had won the toss and chose to bat. When Shakib Al Hasan stepped up, he scored 67 runs. It was thanks to this half-century hit that the team managed to reach a score of 194. After Najmul Shanto and Zakir Hasan scored a combined score of 91 runs, however, Barishal had to chase a target of 195. It was a close match, and the Barishal bowlers did their best, but the team ended with a score of 194/7.
When the Strikers went to bat, Colin Ackerman did not give the best start for the team. Towhid Hridoy managed to turn things for the Strikers and scored a half-century for the team. Najmul Shanto and Zakir Hasan, meanwhile, were the ones to seal a high-scoring run chase against Fortune Barishal.
Mushfiqur Rahim and Thisara Perera also helped boost the team’s score with scores of 20 and 23 runs respectively. On the Barishal team’s side, only Shakib Al Hasan and openers Chaturanga de Silva and Anamul Haque were able to score more than 20 runs for the team.
In addition to having strong batsmen, the Strikers showed superb bowling and took out several of Barishal’s batters. When comparing the teams in the match, it all fell to one side having more aggressive batsmen.
Compared to the 2022 BPL, the Sylhet Strikers gave a strong comeback. They played the opening match for the tournament against the Chattogram Challengers and won by 8 wickets with 45 balls left.
Following this match, the Sylhet Strikers are going against the Comilla Victorians while the Fortune Barishal goes against the Rangpur Riders. Given that this was the first match for the Fortune Barishal team, they still have a chance for a strong comeback in their match against the Rangpur Riders on January 10(Tuesday).
Especially since the Barishal has the finest lineup in the tournament with veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hassan in the lead.
In the 2022 BPL, both teams had polar results. Unlike this year, the Fortune Barishals had no losses and ended up number 1 in the rankings through the Comilla Victorians who had won the tournament.
On the other hand, the Sylhet Strikers had lost almost all matches, one match having ended in a draw. Between the two, the Barishal team ended with 15 points, while the Strikers ended with 3 points.
The matches will be going on until February 10 and the playoffs will start on February 12. Currently, three teams won their first matches, and they are the Sylhet Strikers, Rangpur Riders, and Khulna Tigers.