CV 157/7 in 20 overs│Live Cricket Score, Comilla Victorians vs Barisal Bulls, Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2015 Final at Dhaka: Alok Kapali leads Comilla Victorians to memorable victory!

Barisal Bulls setup a date with Comilla Victorians in the final after beating Rangpur Riders in the 2nd qualifier.

Hello and welcome to CricketCountry’s live blog of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2015 final between Comilla Victorians and Barisal Bulls at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka on Tuesday. This is Amit Banerjee, and I shall be presenting to you the updates from the match, as and when they happen. Barisal Bulls qualified for the final after beating Rangpur Riders by five wickets in the second Qualifier that was played at the same venue. Comilla stormed their way into the final after thrashing Rangpur by 72 runs, and had earlier finished at the top spot in the points table, and have beaten Barisal in both group matches. PREVIEW: Comilla Victorians vs Barisal Bulls, BPL 2015 final at Dhaka

Player of the tournament– Ashar Zaidi.

Most Valuable Bangladesh player– Abu Hider Rony.

Man of the Match and Player of the Match — Alok Kapali.

Turned out to be a dream final for the third edition of Bangladesh’s showpiece Twenty20 tournament, with the match going down to the last ball in a thriller of a final! BPL 2015 has been nothing short of a resounding success, with the discovery of several young talented Bangladeshi cricketers such as Abu Hider, who finishes as the second-highest wicket-taker of the tournament. Leading wicket-taker Kevon Cooper has also proved his worth once again in the T20 format, and will now aim to break into the other leagues across the world. Most importantly, it was an event that was successfully pulled off the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), especially after the pull-out of the Australian team in October due to security concerns. The success of BPL 2015 should help restore faith in international teams for touring the country.

LIVE CRICKET SCORE: Comilla Victorians 157/7 in 20 overs: BATTING: Alok Kapali 39(28), Nuwan Kulasekara 0(1): The remainder of the 16th over witnesses Kapali smashes the fourth delivery for a straight boundary! Emrit to bowl the crucial 17th over, with players and fans of both teams sitting tense at the moment. Mis-hit by Kapali in the third delivery fetches only two off it, with six coming off the 17th over. 29 needed off the last 18 balls, with Kapali a crucial figure for Comilla’s title hopes. FOUR! Kapali keeps the contest alive, creating room for himself in the third ball of the 18th over, smashing the fullish delivery towards deep extra-cover to ease some of the pressure off. Sami doesn’t give anything away thereafter, with 6 coming off the over. 23 needed off the last 12 balls, with Cooper coming in to bowl the penultimate over. OUT! Cooper gets wicket number 21, catching up with Abu Hider for the same! Stevens attempts to clear the long-on boundary, but doesn’t get enough power on the shot, as Prasanna takes an easy catch at the deep. Mortaza comes in to bat with a sense of responsibility. OUT! Two in two for Cooper, who is now the leading wicket-taker of the tournament with 22 scalps! The Comilla skipper misfires, getting a bottom edge for the ball to fly towards short third-man, where his Barisal counterpart holds on to the catch. Mortaza departs for a golden duck, as Barisal are clear favourites now. FOUR! Kapali sends the last two balls towards fine-leg for much needed boundaries! Game on! 13 needed off the last over. Can Kapali do it? He’s not on strike though in the following over. Shuvagata Hom attempts a risky single off the first ball, falling short of his crease. Consecutive fours! Kapali is the man for Comilla! Sami crumbles under pressure. SCORES LEVEL! Kapali takes a quick double after guiding the ball towards cover. COMILLA WIN! The fielders close in around the circle, but that doesn’t stop Kapali from finishing the job for his side as Comilla pull off a nerve-wracking three-wicket win over Barishal to be crowned winners of the third edition of the Bangladesh Premier League! OUT! Darren Stevens c Seekkuge Prasanna b Kevon Cooper 8(8), Mashrafe Mortaza c Mahmudullah b Kevon Cooper 0(1), Shuvagata Hom run out 1(1)

LIVE CRICKET SCORE: Comilla Victorians 122/4 in 16 overs, need 35 off 24 balls: BATTING: Alok Kapali 14(14), Darren Stevens 1(1): Fifty for Imrul in just 33 deliveries. The southpaw smashes the second and third deliveries over long-on to reach the milestone! Poor effort by Prasanna, who gives Imrul enough room to go for the big hits. 13 off the 11th over, with the pressure back on Barisal now after the dismissal of Shehzad. OUT! Mahmudullah delivers for his side once again, this time Imrul getting caught at backward point after playing a cut off a short delivery my Mahmudullah to depart for 53. Massive wicket for Barisal, with their skipper once again delivering for his side! Barisal once again in the game, and the match is thrown open once again! AShar Zaidi is the new batsman at the crease. Superb over by Cooper, the second-highest wicket-taker in the ongoing tournament, in a pressure situation. Concedes only four off the 13th over. Eight runs off the 14th over, with Al-Amin proving to be really expensive today, having conceded 30 off three overs without any success. Zaidi meanwhile, is scoring going at run-a-ball pace at the moment. Emrit bowls the 15th over, and a much better one in terms of runs conceded. SIX! Zaidi spoils what was otherwise a brilliant over by Emrit in the circumstances. Zaidi however, fails to see his team off, getting run-out in the following over while attempting a risky single to depart for 16 off 14 balls. Comilla lose their fourth wicket with 116 on board. OUT! Ashar Zaidi run out 16(14)

LIVE CRICKET SCORE: Comilla Victorians 77/2 in 10 overs, need 89 off 71 balls: BATTING: Imrul Kayes 36(26), Alok Kapali 0(0): SIX! Mahmudullah is greeted at the start of the sixth over with a six off Imrul, who picks the short-pitched delivery outside off brilliantly on the backfoot! Three more runs in the remainder of the over. Rayad Emrit is introduced in the following over, and Shehzad picks the line impressively and sends it towards deep backward square-leg, where the ball beats the fielder to the ropes. Nine off Emrit’s first over of the match, with Shehzad retaining strike at the end of the over with a single. Al-Amin returns to the attack for the eighth over, which is quiet for the first three deliveries with the batsmen having to resort to singles. FOUR! Imrul goes for a cover drive off the rising delivery, with the ball skimming through Cooper’s fingers at extra cover before running off to the boundary. Shehzad takes a single off the final ball of the eighth over, which fetches nine runs for Comilla. The umpire calls for the strategic timeout after the first ball of the ninth over, with Shehzad being gifted two runs courtesy a misfield by Cooper at extra cover. Meanwhile, Imrul is seen limping during the ninth over. Here’s hoping he will be fit enough to guide his side past the finish line. OUT! The Barisal skipper gets the breakthrough for his side, with Shehzad getting a top-edge off the final ball of the 10th over, pitched along leg, with Emrit collecting the catch at short fine-leg! End of the 54-run partnership, as Barisal are back in the game at the moment! OUT! Ahmed Shehzad c Rayad Emrit b Mahmudullah  30(24)

LIVE CRICKET SCORE: Comilla Victorians 40/1 in 5 overs: BATTING: Imrul Kayes 21(17), Ahmed Shehzad 12(7): Liton Das and Imrul Kayes open the innings for Comilla, with Mohammad Sami getting to bowl the first over. Wicketkeeper Rony Talukdar messes up in the third ball to allow the ball to run towards the boundary behind him to cncede four byes. Imrul piles further misery, smashing the ball towards midwicket to end the over, which fetches the Victorians eight runs. Imrul continues his fluent form, smashing three boundaries off Al-Amin Hossain in the next over, with Comilla racing to 21 for no loss in absolutely no time at all (two overs that is). Mohammad Sami doesn’t give away any loose deliveries in the third over, which creates extra pressure for Imrul and Liton. The latter crumbles under the pressure, getting a top-edge while attempting to guide a ball, pitched outside off, towards the leg side. Sami is not one to let go of the opportunity, and collects the simple catch for Liton to depart after scoring 3 off 6 balls. Ahmed Shehzad is the new batsman at the crease, and gets his first boundary off Mahmudullah while placing the ball between point and cover for the ball to beat the fielders towards the boundary rope. The Barisal Bulls skipper concedes seven off his over. Kevon Cooper into the attack for the fifth over. FOUR! Shehzad guides it to the third man boundary for an easy four! FOUR! Superb off-drive by Imrul off a half-volley by Cooper! Moves into the 20s now, with Imrul retaining strike at the end of the over with a quick single. OUT! Liton Das c & b Mohammad Sami 3(6)

Comilla Victorians walk out to bat, with Imrul Kayes and Liton Das opening the innings. Mohammad Sami to bowl the first over of the innings.

LIVE CRICKET SCORE: Barisal Bulls 156/4 in 20 overs: BATTING: Shahriar Nafees 44(31), Kevon Cooper 7(2): Stevens bowls a tight over before the strategic timeout, conceding five off the 16th as Barisal reach 109 for the loss of three wickets. Abu Hider comes in to bowl the next over, and is thwarted by a brilliant Mahmudullah, who despatches him for consecutive boundaries towards fine-leg and third man respectively to collect 10 off the over. FOUR! Shahriar gets into the act, slashing the second ball of the over towards backward point for a four! Consecutive fours by Shahriar, this time smashing the ball towards deep cover point! Nine off the over! Phew! Mahmudullah survives a run-out chance in the first ball of the over while trying to get a couple of runs. Mahmudullah makes the fielders pay the price of giving him a second life, despatching the second ball by Abu Hider towards long-leg for a four! FOUR! Superb stroke by Mahmudullah to despatch the third ball towards deep extra cover! It is but ‘Daal Bhaat’ for a batsman of the class of Mahmudullah, as the commentator just remarked! Mahmudullah mishits a slower one from Hider in the fourth ball, but the ball falls in no-man’s land near the backward square-leg region. SIX! Hider feeds the penultimate ball in the slot for Shahriar to send it flying over long-on for a massive one! Three singles off the first three balls by Kulasekara, before Mahmudullah is clean bowled just two short of a well-deserved fifty. Attempts to send it down towards fine-leg, and misses the line to get his off-stump rattled! OUT! Mahmudullah b Nuwan Kulasekara 48(36)

LIVE CRICKET SCORE: Barisal Bulls 104/3 in 15 overs: BATTING: Shahriar Nafees 23(19), Mahmudullah 24(20): SIX! Shahriar makes his presence felt this time, smashing the first ball of the 10th over by Stevens over long-on for a massive one! Mortaza comes in to bowl the 11th over. OUT! Sabbir comes down the track in order to play the good length delivery over the mid-on region, and mistimes the delivery to get his stumps rattled. Zaidi is back into the attack.The 12th over would have been a maiden had it not been a double taken by Mahmudullah off the third delivery. Shahriar breaks the shackles after a few dot deliveries, smashing the fourth ball of the 14th over by Zaidi over deep square-leg for a big one! 9 runs off the 14th over! FOUR Mahmudullah picks an attempted yorker towards deep forward square-leg for a four, which is then followed by a massive six! And Mahmudullah returns to the crease to send the ball flying over the keeper’s head courtesy a ramp shot for a four, with 16 runs coming off the 15th over and the 100 coming up for Barisal at the same time. OUT! Sabbir Rahman b Mashrafe Mortaza 9(19)

LIVE CRICKET SCORE: Barisal Bulls 56/2 in 9 overs: BATTING:Sabbir Rahman 7(16), Shahriar Nafees 1(6): DROPPED! Prasanna picks the line of the fourth delivery of the sixth over quite well, but does not get enough power to the shot. Alok Kapali runs towards deep square-leg, and almost pulls off a stunning catch, but the ball pops out of his hands after he dives, dropping Prasanna on 21! Will this drop prove too costly for Mortaza and co. in the end? Only time and the performances from either sides will tell. Spilling opportunities in a tournament final however, is unpardonable, and just one dropped chance can alter the entire course of the match. SIX! Prasanna continues his onslaught, smashing Naeem over wide long-on for a massive one! Englishman Darren Stevens comes in to bowl the eighth over. BOWLED! Stevens uproots Prasanna’s middle-stump, with the batsman missing the line of the delivery completely while attempting to hoick it over mid-on! Skipper Mortaza comes in to bowl the ninth over, conceding a couple of runs off it! OUT! Seekkuge Prasanna b Darren Stevens 33(19)

LIVE CRICKET SCORE: Barisal Bulls 37/1 in 5 overs: BATTING: Seekkuge Prasanna 21(11), Sabbir Rahman 3(6): Mashrafe Mortaza opts to start the innings with spin, handing the ball to left-arm orthodox spinner Ashar Zaidi, who gives away only three runs in the first over. Kulasekara, who has been one of the most consistent so far, concedes four off the next as Barisal are off to a relatively slow start. The third over is by far more eventful, with Prasanna and Maruf hitting the first four and six of the innings respectively, before Zaidi has the last laugh at the end of the over, trapping Maruf lbw off a delivery that stays low, with the batsman attempting to pull it away. Abu Hider, the leading wicket-taker of the third edition of BPL at the moment, bowls the fourth over without conceding too many runs. SIX! Prasanna starts the fifth over with a six towards square-leg off a full toss from fellow Sri Lankan Kulasekara. FOUR! Prasanna ends the over with a top-edge that sends the ball towards long-stop for a four!  OUT! Mehedi Maruf lbw Ashar Zaidi 11(13)

Teams:

Comilla Victorians: Liton Das (wk), Imrul Kayes, Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Darren Stevens, Ashar Zaidi, Ahmed Shehzad, Alok Kapali, Shuvagata Hom, Abu Hider, Naeem Islam Jr, Nuwan Kulasekara.

Barisal Bulls: Mehedi Maruf, Seekkuge Prasanna, Sabbir Rahman, Shahriar Nafees, Mahmudullah (c), Rayad Emrit, Kevon Cooper, Rony Talukdar (c), Al-Amin Hossain, Nadif Chowdhury, Mohammad Sami.

Toss: Comilla Victorians have won the toss, and have elected to field.

The biggest strength for Comilla ahead of the final is in their bowling attack, with Abu Hider exhibiting brilliant form to top the bowling charts at the moment. Hider, along with Asher Zaidi and Nuwan Kulasekara, have been effective throughout the tournament — bowling both Barisal and Rangpur out for less than 100 in the group stage. They had to deal with a major loss when prolific run-scorer and all-rounder Marlon Samuels, who had to leave the tournament mid-way for Australia, where national team West Indies play the hosts in a Test series. LIVE CRICKET STREAMING: Comilla Victorians vs Barisal Bulls, BPL 2015 final at Dhaka

Squads:

Barisal Bulls: Evin Lewis, Rony Talukdar (wk), Mehedi Maruf, Sabbir Rahman, Mahmudullah (c), Nadif Chowdhury, Seekkuge Prasanna, Kevon Cooper, Mohammad Sami, Al-Amin Hossain, Taijul Islam, Sharifullah, Shahriar Nafees, Sajedul Islam, Chris Gayle, Brendan Taylor, Nikhil Dutta, Imad Wasim.

Comilla Victorians: Abu Hider, Ahmed Shehzad, Alok Kapali, Ariful Haque, Ashar Zaidi, Dolar Mahmud, Imrul Kayes, Nuwan Kulasekara, Liton Das (wk), Mahmudul Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Mukhtar Ahmed, Naeem Islam jnr, K Santokie, Shoaib Malik, Shuvagata Hom, Darren Stevens, Sunzamul Islam.

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