Vision and brand value work in Comilla’s favour

Comilla Victorians had the firepower while Sylhet Sixers had the exuberance of local players, but in the end the T20 mettle that Comilla possessed had overpowered Mashrafe Bin Mortaza's Sylhet as Comilla became Bangladesh Premier League champions for the fourth time -- the most by a BPL franchise -- with a seven-wicket win in Mirpur yesterday.

Imrul Kayes, who captained the side in what was his third BPL title, was ecstatic after the win.

"It has been a fantastic journey for us throughout the tournament. We are champions four times and as captain, I won for the third time," Imrul said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

It was yet another impressive performance from Sylhet’s Najmul Hossain Shanto, who struck his fourth fifty of the tournament in the final. Shanto ended as the top run getter of BPL, with 516 runs in 15 matches at 39.69 average, and was also named the player of the tournament for his efforts. Photo: Firoz Ahmed

With a little bit more time to reflect on their fourth title, the Comilla skipper later came to the press conference and relayed that his side, unlike the other franchises, have been able to build themselves up as a brand that allows them to have a different kind of vision when heading into the tournament.

"Comilla is a brand. Many franchises come and play well or badly but then they don't come next year. But Comilla had a different vision," said Imrul, echoing his coach Mohammad Salahuddin's sentiments.

Salahuddin, who is a highly-regarded coach in Bangladesh's cricket fraternity, won his fourth BPL with Comilla. The franchise have appeared in every BPL since 2015.

In yesterday's final, Comilla dropped as many as four catches with a few misfields, leading to a healthier score by Sylhet.

"The way we fielded today, it appeared that the day did not belong to us. But I felt they didn't score enough runs in the end and should have gotten 200. The wicket was good but since their score was 180, we felt we might win since they have less bowling options. Our vision was different, and when we take the field we go to become champions," the Comilla coach said.

Johnson Charles was the hero of the match with an unbeaten 52-ball 79, picking up 23 runs in the 17th over bowled by Rubel Hossain. Initially Charles had found going difficult but that Rubel over essentially turned the game in Comilla's favour. His 70-run stand with Liton Das, who struck 55, effectively laid the platform for strong finishers such as Moeen Ali and Charles, and the likes of Andre Russell, Jaker Ai and Mosaddek Hossain were not required in the end.

"I enjoyed it. Honestly, I thought it was a good pitch. It was a 200 pitch but they only got 175, so I thought if we take it to the last over, we will win. Once you stick to your plans, you do well. I am glad that I could take my team over the line and win it for Comilla Victorians," Charles said at post-match presentations.

"Liton has been superb, he is such a joy to watch, he is a classic player with touch and skill," the West Indian commented on Liton's contribution in the final.

Sylhet skipper Mashrafe led a team, built on a budget, to the finals and was happy with what the young side had achieved. Rubel had picked up two wickets before that 17th over but him conceding 23 runs saw the game slip away.

"We are pretty much happy, we are a good team. It was a bad day today, maybe in patches we didn't do well but we batted well. We lost two-three wickets in those patches, we were 10-15 runs short," Mashrafe said.

"Rubel had gotten us back in the game today but in one or two overs, things didn't go our way. They needed 52 in four overs and it was important to execute our plan.

"We are built on a budget and we used local players at the top-order, who played with freedom. They took responsibility so we can't ask for anything more than that," Mashrafe concluded.