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Frontrunners v underdogs

Sports Reporter
The 2016 edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) has been a touch underwhelming as far as the
matches, the pitches and the fanfare surrounding the lucrative T20 tournament are concerned. The lukewarm reception is clearly to be seen in the serially low turn-outs at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, the venue for today's final between the high-flying Dhaka Dynamites and the fighting underdogs Rajshahi Kings.
The pitches in Dhaka will have to take a large share of the blame for the lack of a festive atmosphere in the BPL so far. The average first-innings score in Dhaka has been a less-than-impressive 143.6.
Fortunately however, there are other subplots that may pique the watchers' interest. Today’s match features the ultimate frontrunners in Dhaka, led by Shakib Al Hasan, against a team that would not have been hot pre-tournament favourites, but one that has drawn strength in unity and inspiration from talismanic skipper Darren Sammy. Their unity was
forged under fire as they lost four of their first five matches before finding their feet and going on a winning spree of four matches in the league stage, and are currently riding a three-match streak that has led them to a final.
The lynchpin of their batting is Sabbir Rahman, the sole centurion in this year's league, and perhaps the most dangerous player in the final, although there are other very worthy candidates. In the qualifier against Khulna Titans on Wednesday, he displayed a high level of maturity by playing sedately at first and then opening his shoulders when the target was in sight. The message was clear: Sabbir wants to win this and he wants to have a big part in the triumph.
He will be supported by the 17-year-old Afif Hossain, who has so for impressed with both bat and ball and may well be the find of the season, and the likes of Samit Patel, Nurul Hasan and Mominul Haque. The X factor is skipper Sammy, however, as he proved with his barn-storming effort in the Eliminator when he rescued his side against Chittagong Kings with a flurry of late sixes. The in-
form bowling unit consists of Kesrick Williams, Mehedi Hasan Miraz, their highest wicket-taker Abul Hasan, Afif and of course, Sammy.
All that may still not be good enough to beat Dhaka, the team that from the start of the tournament has seemed like winning the whole thing. At the helm is Shakib's canny leadership and mastery of the format, but backing him up are Kumar Sangakkara, Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell, Evin Lewis, Nasir Hossain and Mosaddeq Hossain to name but a few. Such is the wealth in depth that Mahela Jayawardene cannot get a place in the 11.
They boast the highest wicket-taker in Dwayne Bravo, who has scalped 20, while Lewis has the highest batting strike rate - 204. Moreover, players like Bravo and Russell have the ability to turn a game with either bat or ball in the space of an over or two --a quality worth its weight in gold in this format.
It is folly to predict the outcome of a T20 match, but Dhaka does have the better team on paper. However, with players like Sabbir and Sammy, Rajshahi does have the ability to provide the inspirational end this tournament needs.