Barishal bounce back after Narine carnage

After an early flurry of runs, Fortune Barishal bowlers managed to curb Comilla Victorians batters' strokeplay to restrict them to 151 for nine in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) final in Mirpur yesterday.

Sunil Narine, on the back of a blazing 57-run knock against Chattogram Challengers in Qualifier 2 on Wednesday, was on song again yesterday as he found boundaries easily.

Despite opener Liton Das perishing to Barishal skipper Shakib Al Hasan in the third over, runs came freely from Narine's bat, who picked up his fifty off just 21 deliveries. His power-hitting had Comilla skipper Shakib worried but in the final over of the Powerplay, Narine (57 off 23) succumbed to Mehedi Hasan Rana.

With a long batting lineup, Comilla were expected to make hay. However, a good effort from Barishal saw Mahmudul Hasan Joy run out before Mujeeb Ur Rahman removed Faf du Plessis and Ariful Haque. As the runs dried up, Moeen Ali's fighting 38-run knock helped Comilla reach a decent total.