Liton, Samuels help Comilla end group stage with a win

Comilla Victorians signed off the BPL's league stage with a 25-run win against Sylhet Sixers. It was their ninth win in the competition as they finished on top of the points table. Sylhet meanwhile finished in fifth place.

Comilla made 170 for 4 in the first innings, with fifties from Liton Das and Marlon Samuels. Sylhet lost wickets whenever a partnership took shape, and it took Sabbir Rahman's 20-ball 31 to give them some momentum, although it was brief and came far too late in the match.

Jos Buttler and Imrul Kayes fell inside five overs before Liton and Samuels added 83 for the third wicket. Liton struck six fours and three sixes in his 65 off 43 balls, while Samuels made 55 off 43 balls with five fours and two sixes.

After their strong base, Shoaib Malik laid into the Sylhet attack with two sixes and a four in his unbeaten 18-ball 28. Nasir Hossain, Nabil Samad, Kamrul Islam Rabbi and Ross Whiteley took one wicket each.

Mohammad Rizwan was given out lbw although he had inside-edged a full delivery from Mahedi Hasan . Umpire Akhtaruzzaman's decision bewildered Rizwan and drew a wry smile from Waqar Younis, Sylhet's mentor.

Graeme Cremer then got rid of Nasir Hossain with a beautiful googly, which snuck between his bat and pad. He then removed Andre Fletcher in the 11th over, caught at long-off for 25 off 30 balls. Babar Azam became Cremer's third wicket when he slogged straight to deep midwicket, having made 20.

Mahedi came back to dismiss Whiteley in the 14th over and Sylhet needed 88 in the last six overs.

Sabbir Rahman had started off slowly despite coming in with Sylhet needing 11 per over. His surge came very late, when he struck Al-Amin Hossain for three consecutive fours in the 15th over which went for 15, before combinging with Sohail Tanvir to hit Mahedi for 18 runs in the next over. But there was too much to do in the end and his blitz came to a tame end, when he fell to Hasan Ali whose full toss he drove straight to point.