Comilla Victorians Crowned 2015 Champions After Tense Last-Ball Win

Mashrafe Mortaza-led Comilla Victorians were crowned the champions of the 2015 Bangladesh Premier League after their tense three-wicket win against Barisal Burners in the final in Dhaka on Tuesday. 

Put into bat, Barisal stuttered at the half-way point and it needed an 81-run partnership between Mahmudullah (48) and Shahriar Nafees (44) to boost them to a good score. After 20 overs, they finished up 156/4, a good total on a sluggish pitch. For Comilla, Ashar Zaidi was the pick of the bowlers with 1/26.

In response, Comilla started off well with Imrul Kayes notching up a fifty and his 54-run stand with Ahmed Shehzad put them on course. However, with the departure of Shehzad, the innings stuttered and Kayes was down with hamstring problems. With seven overs to go, the asking rate mounted to nine.

However, Alok Kapali hung in and guided the team at the death. He struck two fours in the 18th over bowled by Kevon Cooper as the equation bowled down to 13 off the last over. Kapali followed it up with two more boundaries off Mohammad Sami and he sealed the match in dramatic style when he flicked a full toss to short fine leg to seal the win for Comilla.

This was the first time that the Bangladesh Premier League was played after a break of one year. Comilla Victorians, the new team to emerge out of a revamped tournament, proved to be fitting winners.

Source: NDTV