Sylhet Strikers, led by captain fantastic Mashrafe bin Mortaza, have created franchise cricket history with their fifth consecutive victory in the Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 2023.
Mashrafe's Sylhet have gone ahead of the likes of Indian Premier League side Chennai Super Kings, Big Bash outfit Hobart Hurricanes, Caribbean Premier League team Barbados Tridents and Sri Lankan Premier League side Jaffna Stallions.
All these franchises won four matches before tasting the first defeat in their inaugural participation in the respective T20 leagues.
But the Strikers, under new ownership, have now surpassed the quartet of teams with their fifth win in a row.
The northeastern city have been ever present in the country's premier T20 competition, but always flattered to deceive, finishing in the bottom half of the points table more often than not.
New ownership however, has done wonders to the fortunes of Sylhet, who have enjoyed unprecedented success thus far under the title Strikers.
Sylhet opened their campaign with an eight-wicket win against Chattogram Challengers in Mirpur on January 6 with right-arm seamer Rejaur Rahman Raja (4/14) and left-handed batter Nazmul Hossain Shanto (43*) starring for the Strikers.
A day later at the same venue, the Strikers registered a six-wicket triumph against Fortune Barishal with Mashrafe (3/48) and Towhid Hridoy (55) providing inspiration with their displays.
Youngster Hridoy (56) then won the second of his three consecutive player of the match awards as the Strikers made it a hat-trick of wins in Mirpur on January 9, beating Comilla Victorians by five wickets; the consistent Mohammad Amir (2/22) also chipping in with his contribution.
A day later, the Strikers equaled the record with the 62-run triumph against Dhaka Dominators at their backyard in Mirpur, with man of the moment Hridoy (84) and Mashrafe (2/14) leading the way.
The Strikers then completed the double against the Dominators, and made the franchise cricket record their very own, with a five-wicket win in Chittagong on January 16, orchestrated by left-arm spinner Imad Wasim (3/20) and right-handed batsman Mohammad Haris (44).
