The Comilla Victorians Win the 2023 BPL
With a seven-wicket victory against the Sylhet Strikers, the Comilla Victorians secured their fourth BPL (Bangladesh Premiere League) win. The defending champions’ victory is thanks to an unbeaten 79-run score from 52 balls by Johnson Charles.
Comilla Victorians Journey
During the tournament, the Sylhet Strikers and Comilla Victorians faced each other four times. In the league stage, Sylhet Strikers beat Comilla Victorians by five wickets. The next time they played against each other, the Victorians claimed a victory by the same margin.
The two sides finished top of the BPL 2023 points table with 18 points each separated on Net Run Rate. The Victorians had a net run rate of +0.737, while the Strikers had +0.723.
In the Qualifiers, Comilla Victorians registered a 4-wicket win over Sylhet Strikers. Having defeated the Rnagpur Riders by 19 runs in their last qualifier match, the Victorians secured their spot in the finals against the Victorians.
The Comilla Victorians and Sylhet Strikers Final Match
When the two faced each other in the finals at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur, Comilla Victorians won the toss and chose to field. The Victorians had the Strikers struggling on 26 for two in three overs. After seven overs, they were at 48 for two.
Mushfiqur and Shanto helped turn the tables for the Strikers and raised the team’s score to a hundred inside twelve overs. Eventually, Shanto was dismissed at 64 runs from 45 balls, featuring nine fours and a six.
Before the end of their innings, Mushfiqur (74) ensured Sylhet got to post a challenging total of 175 for seven after 20 overs.
Among the Victorians’ bowlers, left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman picked up two wickets, while Andre Russell, Tanvir Islam, Sunil Narine, and Moeen Ali took a wicket each for Comilla.
When the Victorians were sent up to bat, they made quick work of the 176-run target. Liton Das and Sunil Narine easily reached the necessary number to reach the target in the second over as the duo combined to score 20 runs off Tanzim Hasan Sakib.
The Strikers, however, had formidable bowlers and dismissed Litton at 55 off 39 balls with seven fours and a six. Before that, Litton partnered with Johnson Charles, and the pair brought up Comilla’s century after 12 overs.
By the end of their innings, Charles (79 not out off 52 balls), Das (55 off 39 balls), and Ali (25 not out off 17 balls) powered the Comilla Victorians past the target with seven wickets in hand and four balls to spare.
Having secured their victory in the BPL, the Victorians will be rewarded 2 Crore BDT (Approximately 1.55 Crore INR). While the Strikers have lost, they will be rewarded Crore BDT (Approximately 78 Lakhs INR) as the tournament’s runner-ups.
Comilla Victorians BPL History
In the previous BPL, the Comilla Victorians won by a narrow margin of 1 run against the Fortune Barishal. The last time that the Victorians won the BPL was in 2015 and 2019. While the 2023 tournament has ended, preparations are already underway for the 2024 BPL.