2017 In Review: Rangpur rule the roost in BPL

Dhaka Premier League 2016-17Gazi Group Cricketers lost the last game of the season, against Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club, in the Super League phase but the former had confirmed their title win long before that. Gazi Group secured their maiden DPL title riding on their early season form where they registered a succession of victories. Prime Doleshwar finished as the runners-up in the premier 50-over domestic competition of the country. Gazi Group posted nine wins in 11 outings and concluded their campaign on 18 points, two ahead of Prime Doleshwar and Abahani Limited. Prime Doleshwar pipped Abahani due to a better net run rate. With the bat, Liton Das topped the chart with 752 runs, including two centuries and five half-centuries at an average of 53.71 while with the ball, Abu Haider finished with the most wickets, 35 scalps in 16 matches.Relegated from Premier Division: Victoria Sporting Club and Partex Sporting ClubPromoted from 1st Division: Shinepukur Cricket Club and Agrani Bank Cricket ClubRelegated from 1st Division: Dhanmondi Pragati Sangho and Baridhara DazzlersDPL champion: Gazi Group CricketersRunners-up: Prime Doleshwar Sporting ClubMost runs: Liton Das (Abahani Limited, 752 runs, 14 inn, ave 53.71)Most wickets: Abu Haider (Gazi, 35 wickets, 16 inn, ER 4.85)  National Cricket League 2017Khulna recorded a hat-trick of NCL titles after finishing top of tier one. In the process, they lifted their sixth NCL title overall. Dhaka ended bottom of tier one, thus getting relegated to tier two. In tier two, Rajshahi finished top to get themselves back to tier one. With 619 runs, Anamul Haque scored the most with two centuries and half as many fifty while Farhad Reza bagged the most wickets – 21 in 10 innings.Promoted to Tier 1: RajshahiRelegated to Tier 2: DhakaNCL champion: KhulnaRunners-up: RangpurMost runs: Anamul Haque (Khulna, 619 runs, 8 inn, ave 77.37)Most wickets: Farhad Reza (Rajshahi, 21 wickets, 10 inn, ER 2.69)  Bangladesh Premier League 2017Boosted by Chris Gayle's two unbeaten hundreds, in the all-important Eliminator and the grand finale, Rangpur Riders lifted their maiden BPL T20 title. For the veteran Mashrafe bin Mortaza, this was his fourth BPL title in five attempts. The captain fantastic led Dhaka Gladiators to the title in 2012 and 2013 before repeating the heroics for Comilla Victorians in 2014. Rangpur winning the money-spinning tournament meant the BPL got its third winner after Dhaka and Comilla. The Riders defeated Dhaka Dynamites in the final of the 45-day long competition. Windies opener Gayle decimated the opposition, hoicking 146 as Rangpur gave the capital city outfit a huge target of 206. The Dynamites though, folded for 149. Much like the previous editions, the BPL had its share of controversies in 2017 and this time around, it involved Comilla and the BPL governing council. The two parties had been at loggerheads over the decision to have a reserve day in the final phase of the tournament due to overcast weather. Gayle topped the run-scorer's chart with 485 runs in 11 innings while Shakib bagged the most scalps, taking 22 wickets in 13 innings.BPL champion: Rangpur RidersRunners-up: Dhaka DynamitesMost runs: Chris Gayle (Rangpur, 485 runs, 11 inn, ave 53.88)Most wickets: Shakib al Hasan (Dhaka, 22 wickets, 13 inn, ER 6.49)  Bangladesh Cricket League 2017BCB North Zone lifted their maiden title of the franchise-based first-class tournament of the country. In the previous four editions, Prime Bank South Zone and Walton Central Zone had won the title twice each. North Zone finished top of the points table with 22 points, six ahead of South Zone. The tournament's top-scorer Tushar Imran made 731 runs in nine innings at an average of 91.37, including a highest score of 220, while Sanjamul Islam bagged 25 wickets in eight innings to finish as the highest wicket-taker.BCL champion: BCB North ZoneRunners-up: Prime Bank South ZoneMost runs: Tushar Imran (South, 731 runs, 9 inn, ave 91.37)Most wickets: Sanjamul Islam (BCB North Zone, 25 wickets, 8 inn, ER 3.11)Did you know?Rangpur Riders’ Chris Gayle fell just one short of recording the highest number of runs in a BPL campaign when he finished his BPL 2017 campaign on 485 runs. The feat belongs to Ahmed Shehzad (486)