'You either don't like me or don't understand the game'

Rangpur Riders and Comilla Victorians will clash for a spot in the final of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) tomorrow in the first qualifier at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on Monday.

Rangpur captain Nurul Hasan Sohan and Comilla skipper Liton Das faced the media a day before the all-important match, where other than talking about their forthcoming clash, the two batters defended their individual performances so far in the tournament.

Sohan, who has made 207 runs in 12 innings at a strike rate of 135.29 this season and a best score of 46, was the more defiant one in his defence, rejecting the claim that he hasn't had the best of tournaments with the bat.

"By saying that I'm not among the runs, do you mean to say that I was supposed to score heavily in 12 out of 12 matches? Did you see my contribution in five matches?" Sohan asked the journalist who asked him about his underwhelming run in this year's BPL so far.

"Maybe you don't like me, or maybe you don't understand the game… Go look at my stats, what position I'm batting at, how many runs I have scored – you need to see them first then ask questions," Sohan added.

Liton, who has made 292 runs opening the innings in 12 innings at a strike rate of 126.95, was more lenient in his defence, accepting that his performance hasn't been stellar but was hopeful of improving it in the remaining games.

"Every batsman won't score runs in every match, that's the truth. It's not like I've played really poorly. I've scored almost 300 runs. The ones who played really well have close to 400 runs.

"There are still a few matches left, let's see. If I can perform up to my potential, of course I have a chance to score more than 400 runs."

The first qualifier will be played in the evening after the eliminator match between Fortune Barishal and Chattogram Challengers in the afternoon.