One eye on grand finale as Dhaka, Comilla do battle

Defending champion Dhaka Dynamites will face high-flying Comilla Victorians in Qualifier 1 of BPL 2017 at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on Friday. The winner will march to the grand finale but the loser will get another chance to reach the final as they will take on the winning team of the Eliminator Sunday in Qualifier 2 at the home of cricket in Mirpur. Comilla have been in good form throughout the tournament as they lost only three matches from 12 outings. In their last group stage match, they rested key players, bearing in mind they had to play three games within four days.

Snaps of Khulna Titans, Dhaka Dynamites and Comilla Victorians practice session.https://t.co/jfURlrcTVr

— BPLT20 (@Official_BPLT20) December 7, 2017

Comilla coach Mohammad Salahuddin is cautious ahead of their clash against a strong opponent like Dhaka and said the team will play with the same game plan, which has been followed throughout the money-spinning tournament. “We had a chance to give rest to our main players. And we were able to give them rest at the end in the last game. Because we had to play three matches within four days. I hope those players will come back fresh.” Salahuddin said during training in Mirpur on Thursday. “We are treating this qualifier as a knockout game. We don’t want to lose any momentum at this stage of the tournament. So every match is important. So we will play today as if it was a knockout game. “We are heading towards the final stage of the tournament with the same gameplan that we had in the group stage. We always played each match as if it was our last game of the tournament. And we will continue that mentality. Hopefully players will play according to plan.” he added. Meanwhile, Dhaka coach Khaled Mahmud is expecting a tough fight against Comilla and admitted that the opponent have the upper hand due to their recent form in the cash-rich competition.

Highest runs partnership after the league stage.#BPLSeason5 pic.twitter.com/CEhFXklVDY

— BPLT20 (@Official_BPLT20) December 7, 2017

“First of all we will play as an underdog. Comilla won both the matches against us in the group stage. We have also played well but we lack consistency. We have posted 200-plus scores but also scored less than 150 in a few games. So inconsistency has been our problem,” Mahmud explained. “But we played our last match brilliantly. Shakib al Hasan led the team from the front while the local players performed well. So we are expecting a good game.” he added.PLAYERS TO WATCHTamim IqbalOpener Tamim is in good touch with the bat as he has scored 265 runs in eight innings at an average of 37.85 and strike rate of 130.54. Tamim missed the first four matches due to injury but the left-hander scored significant runs after his return, giving good starts to his team. So Tamim needs to deliver another good, strong start against Dhaka if Comilla are to have any hope of winning the Qualifier 1.Hasan AliHasan adapted to the pitches pretty well and picked up plenty of wickets. The ICC’s No 1 ranked bowler in ODIs has taken 12 wickets in seven innings at an average of 17. Hasan will face a big challenge today as Dhaka have plenty of big hitters in their batting line-up.Sunil NarineNarine has developed his batting tremendously in recent years as the left-hander often opens the innings in T20 cricket. BPL 5 has already witnessed his batting ability in a few matches as Narine scored 177 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 151.28. The left-hander is always a brilliant bowler in the shorter formats as he has picked up 10 wickets. So Narine could be an important factor today.Shakib al HasanDhaka captain Shakib showed his class in the last game as the prolific all-rounder played superbly with both bat and ball to secure a crucial win for his side. Shakib has already bagged a five-wicket haul in the tournament and is currently the leading wicket-taker with 19 scalps. His form with the willow is decent as well as he has scored 176 runs in 11 innings.