Despite playing remarkably well throughout the league stage of the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League, Sylhet Strikers (SYL) have found themselves in a tight spot ahead of the mega-final. Two of their most important players, Imad Wasim and Mohammad Amir have left for the Pakistan Super League and that caused a disruption in the team combination. It is because of which, they were very poor in Qualifier 1 against Comilla Victorians (COV) and will be under tremendous pressure when they once again take on the three-time champions at the Shere Bangla Stadium on February 16.
The Imrul Kayes-led side on the other hand will be much more relaxed. Their foreign addition ahead of qualifier 1 has worked wonders for them as Sunil Narine was phenomenal with both bat and ball. The 34-year-old conceded only eight runs in 3.1 overs while scoring 39 off 18 deliveries with the bat. Andre Russell was pretty ordinary in the recently concluded ILT20 but on his return to BPL, the all-rounder once again lived up to his potential, picking up two crucial wickets. Courtesy of their brilliant bowling, they restricted Sylhet to 125 runs only and eventually won the match comfortably.
Meanwhile, Sylhet won the eliminator and qualified for the finals after beating Rangpur Riders by 19 runs on Monday. Even though no one, in particular, made a massive difference but their batting unit overall looked in good touch. Luke Wood picked up three wickets with the ball while Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Rubel Hossain picked up two each. Now, despite the win, there remains a lot of room for improvement.
