Mustafizur's Sunrisers in IPL final

Bangladeshi cricket fans will have an extra incentive to watch the Indian Premier League (IPL) final tomorrow as rookie Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman's team Sunrisers Hyderabad have qualified for the season showdown with Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.

Skipper David Warner played a heroic hand in the qualifier against Gujarat Lions at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi yesterday, a match that Mustafizur missed through injury.

There was cause for worry for fans of Mustafizur Rahman, lovingly called Fizz in cricketing circles, as he sat out the crucial game with a 'slight hamstring injury', according to Warner. But Warner shrugged off the setback and hit an imperious, unbeaten 93 to take his side home in their chase of 163 with four wickets to spare, which means there might be one final chance for Mustafizur to strut his wares in the IPL.

A Bangladeshi player has played in the IPL final before -- Shakib Al Hasan did it twice for Kolkata Knight Riders in 2012 and 2014, winning the title both times. Mustafizur and his rapidly growing fan base will be hoping that he can not only recover in time to play the final, but play a winning hand and become the second Bangladeshi to lay claim to the silverware of the most lucrative domestic T20 competition in the world.