Batting depth key for evenly matched finalists

Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Start time 1830 local (1130 GMT)

Given the bowling strength of both Comilla Victorians and Barisal Bulls, the better batting side will have a chance to dominate the BPL 2015-16 final. More importantly, given the way these two teams have fought through the league stage and the qualifiers, the final has the promise of a far better contest than the one-sided matches in 2012 and 2013.

Comilla have been dogged by injuries throughout their BPL 2015-16 campaign, but still eked out wins in the league stage and reached the final with a convincing win over Rangpur Riders in the first qualifier. Mashrafe Mortaza's inspirational leadership has certainly helped, along with Abu Hider's 21 wickets, Ashar Zaidi's all-round show, and match-winning efforts from Imrul Kayes, Shoaib Malik and Nuwan Kulasekara.

Mashrafe has struggled with his hamstring injury but bowled well off a short run-up in the first qualifier. His batting, too, could come in handy. Their catching, particularly that of Shuvagata Hom, has also been a key factor in reaching this far in the competition.

Barisal have momentum on their side, having won their last four games. They have been led well by Mahmudullah, whose batting has always been the anchor of the line-up. Rony Talukdar's form may be worrying but Sabbir Rahman's return to form is encouraging. Kevon Cooper, Mohammad Sami and Al-Amin Hossain have combined perfectly as a pace-bowling unit while Mahmudullah has been shrewd in his use of spinners Seekkuge Prasanna and Taijul Islam, whenever necessary. Their fielding will have to be electric if they are to stop Comilla.

The final could also decide the highest wicket-taker of this season with only one wicket separating Hider and Cooper (20).

Comilla Victorians: WWLWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Barisal Bulls: WWWWL

Sabbir Rahman finally came to the party for Barisal in the last two matches, with scores of 41 and 79 respectively. He is an attractive stroke-player at the best of times and a BPL final should rouse him on to another big innings.

Comilla will once again rely heavily on Ashar Zaidi, who has delivered almost regularly as a middle and late-order big-hitter, and an accurate left-arm spinner. Barisal will be quite wary of his contribution.

Comilla have a number of injury worries but it is more than likely that Mashrafe, Malik and Kulasekara will feature in their playing XI. They will, however, miss the all-round skills of Andre Russell, who has left for his Big Bash League commitments in Australia.

Comilla Victorians (probable): 1 Imrul Kayes, 2 Liton Das (wk), 3 Ahmed Shehzad, 4 Shuvagata Hom, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Ashar Zaidi, 7 Alok Kapali, 8 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Mahmudul Hasan, 11 Abu Hider

Barisal have shown they can function without Chris Gayle, and they will have to do the same in the final. Rayad Emrit could be picked over Evin Lewis as one of the four foreigners in the playing XI.

Barisal Bulls (probable): 1 Rony Talukdar, 2 Mehedi Maruf, 3 Sabbir Rahman, 4 Shahriar Nafees, 5 Mahmudullah (capt), 6 Seekkuge Prasanna, 7 Rayad Emrit, 8 Kevon Cooper, 9 Mohammad Sami, 10 Al-Amin Hossain, 11 Taijul Islam

The pitches in Mirpur have been the main talking point throughout this BPL season and it's not different ahead of the final. During the qualifiers and eliminator on Saturday and Sunday, players said that the pitch was soft and difficult for stroke-play, despite decent efforts by teams batting first. The weather remains foggy, though not cold, and it will aid bowlers as the pitch is likely to remain on the softer side.

"It is now very clear that we have reached the stage by playing in our way. We are hopeful and positive about the final. We will get something good in the end if we play the way we have done in matches that we have won."
Comilla Victorians captain Mashrafe Mortaza

"We have done well in the league phase and the qualifiers to come to the final. We want to play similarly. We don't want to think of it as a final, but play like we have done previously. I think that will help us."
Barisal Bulls batsman Shahriar Nafees