BPL roundup: Chittagong's late surge headlines league stage; Naim, Ashraf shine

Chittagong Kings' second-place finish in the BPL points table was the biggest surprise at the end of the tournament's league phase. They had to win at least two out of their last three games this week, and they ended up winning all three: against Rangpur Riders, Sylhet Strikers and Fortune Barishal.

They set up the first qualifier with Barishal, who topped the table with 18 points. Khulna Tigers meanwhile won the race to qualify as the fourth team, after beating Rangpur and Dhaka Capitals in their last two league matches. They were equal on 12 points with Durbar Rajshahi, but Khulna had the superior net run rate.

In the eliminator match, Khulna will take on Rangpur who lost their way after making an impressive start to the season. Rangpur lost their last four matches after winning eight in a row. Rajshahi, Dhaka and Sylhet are out.

Mohammad Naim had the most impact as a batter after his century guided Khulna to a crucial win against Rangpur. Naim pummeled an unbeaten 111 off 62 balls, including seven fours and eight sixes.

Dawid Malan was also in great form for Barishal, hitting a couple of sixties this week and an unbeaten 16-ball 37.

What would be most encouraging for the Champions Trophy-bound Bangladesh team, is the form of Tanzid Hasan and Parvez Hossain Emon. They played some destructive knocks this week, with Tanzid hammering seven sixes in his 58 off 37 balls against Khulna. He finished the tournament with 485 runs at a 141.39 strike-rate, and hit 36 sixes - the most by a Bangladeshi batter in the BPL. He also finished the league stage as the tournament's leading run-scorer.

Parvez's 75 off 41 balls against Barishal included a four and eight sixes, which helped Chittagong to a score of 206.

Faheem Ashraf's resurgence, including figures of 5 for 7 against Sylhet, played a huge role in his Pakistan return to the Champions Trophy side. He now has 20 wickets for Barishal, second only to Taskin Ahmed who finished the competition with 25 wickets at an average of 12.04.

Chittagong got the full service of their local pacers when Shoriful Islam and Khaled Ahmed both took four-wicket hauls against Sylhet. Left-arm quick Mrittunjoy Chowdhury took four wickets against Rangpur, while offspinner SM Meherob also registered a crucial four-wicket haul against Sylhet.

Rajshahi became the first team to play without overseas players, breaking the BPL's rule in the process. Their overseas players refused to appear against Rangpur on January 26, after the team owners missed several pay deadlines.

Barishal bowled out Dhaka for just 73 runs, the lowest total in this edition, beating Rajshahi's 80 all out against Chittagong.

Chittagong meanwhile were at the other end of the batting scales, becoming the first team to get four 200-plus scores in the league phase. They also struck 17 sixes in their last game against Barishal, breaking their own franchise record in the season.

Akif Javed, the uncapped Pakistani left-arm fast bowler, was the most impressive young player during the league stage. He has taken 19 wickets averaging 14, with an economy rate below seven.

Mahidul Islam Ankon and Shamim Hossain were impressive young big-hitters, with high strike-rates having scored more than 200 runs lower down the order. Tanzid had already caught the eye with his big scoring in the top order while fast bowler Tanzim Hasan Sakib was Sylhet's only shining light.