Reigning champions Comilla Victorians will be looking to clinch their fifth Bangladesh Premier League title when they take on Fortune Barishal in the blockbuster final of the 10th edition of the tournament at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur today.

The match is scheduled to start at 06:30pm (BST) and will be telecast live on T Sports.

Comilla’s fifth or Barishal’s firstComilla, the most successful franchise in the BPL history, have been one of the most consistent teams in the ongoing tournament and they finished second in the league stage after winning eight out of their 12 matches.

The four-time champions then beat Rangpur Riders by six wickets in the first qualifier to book their place in the BPL final for the third successive time.

Comilla are also the only side in the BPL history which have never lost in a BPL final and they will be looking to continue the streak when they take on Barishal in the current edition final.

“It’s not like we will get the trophy after only reaching the final. Comilla performed well in all previous finals to emerge champions. We want to replicate the same this year as well. We want to become champions by showcasing a good performance,” Comilla’s in-form batsman Jaker Ali Anik told reporters after a photo shoot programme at the historic Ahsan Manzil in the capital on Thursday.

“Barishal also came here after delivering a very good performance. We respect every opposition team. We will do the same in the final. We always try to play our best cricket and will try to do the same in the final as well,” he added.

Comilla will get a big boost in the final as their pacer Mustafizur Rahman will return to the playing XI after he missed his team’s last couple of matches due to a head injury.

On the other hand, despite losing three out of the first four league games, Barishal made a strong comeback in the tournament by winning six out of the remaining eight games to finish third in the league stage.

Barishal then beat Chattogram Challengers by seven wickets in the eliminator before they defeated Rangpur by six wickets to book their place in the final for the second time in their history.

The last time Barishal qualified for the final was back in 2022 when they lost to Comilla by just one run during a thrilling contest but this time, they want to change their fortune by clinching their maiden BPL title.

“Cricket is such a game where the team who plays well on the day will win...Barishal played against Comilla in a BPL final which they lost by one run. Hopefully, it will be a good match as well and everyone will enjoy the game,” Barishal all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz said.

Both teams faced each other twice in the ongoing tournament with Comilla winning the first leg match by four wickets in Dhaka while Barishal took revenge of that defeat in the second match when they registered a six-wicket win, that too in Dhaka.

Meanwhile, although it’s a common norm for captains of the finalist teams to take part in the photo session ahead of the final, both Comilla and Barishal skippers Liton Das and Tamim Iqbal remained absent during the programme.

Comilla’s Jaker and Barishal’s Mehidy took part in the customary photo shoot on behalf of their respective captains at the Ahsan Manzil on Thursday morning.

Meanwhile, fans were seen in long queues in front of the ticket booths for the BPL final tickets between Comilla and Barishal – the two franchises which have already proved to have the biggest fan base among all seven participating teams.