The 18th match of the ongoing Bangladesh T20 League will witness another nerve-wracking encounter at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram tonight. The match will set in motion at 6 PM (IST). In this face-off, Khulna Tigers will take on Rajshahi Royals for the second time in this season. The last time they met on 17th December was when the Tigers chased the target of 190 runs and registered their five-wicket victory against Rajshahi Royals. In fact, the Royals have not appeared in the game since these teams opened the second phase of fixtures in Chittagong. So, the Royals have to prove that they have not lost their momentum even after six-day break and are capable of winning this match.
Khulna Tigers Preview
Khulna Tigers have clinched the second spot on the points table, with three straight wins in the opening of the tournament. They thrashed Chattogram Challengers, then Rajshahi Royals, and Rangpur Rangers one by one. Unfortunately, Sylhet Thunder defeated the Tigers by 80 runs during their last encounter. The team has high hopes from Rilee Rossouw, who is at the top of the batting line up scoring 224 runs at an average of 112.
Seasoned player Mushfiqur Rahim’s superb batting can help the Royals attain victory, especially considering his epic knock – 96 runs – that he made the last these teams met. Shafiul Islam, Shahidul Islam and Mohammad Amir have bagged four wickets each for their team, but unfortunately Shafiul Islam has been ruled out due to injury.
Rajshahi Royals Preview
Rajshahi Royals have the third spot on the points table, just one below the Tigers. The former started the league with victories over Dhaka Platoon and Sylhet Thunder. But now they need to buck up to win this match in order to get ahead of the Tigers. The prominent players the team would count on are Shoaib Malik, who is the team’s leading run-scorer with 139 runs and Liton Das, who also played well by making unbeaten 44 runs, taking his run tally to 102 from three innings.
The bowling department looks quite promising with the likes of Andre Russell, and Farhad Reza, who have scalped three wickets each in the tournament. Alok Kapali and Ravi Bopara are the leading wicket-takers with four wickets each.
Pitch Report and Weather Conditions
The weather conditions seem to be conducive for the match as no precipitation is expected today. The temperature will be around 20 degrees Celsius at night with a little amount of humidity (57%). The pitch at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium favours batting and batsmen can easily hit big scores. It will be a testing time for bowlers and spinners as dew also plays a vital role at night, so chasing should be the way forward.
Head to Head Stats
|
Teams |
Total Matches Played |
Won |
Lost |
|
Khulna Tigers |
4 |
3 |
1 |
|
Rajshahi Royals |
3 |
2 |
1 |
Probable Playing XI
Khulna Tigers: Rilee Rossouw, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Mushfiqur Rahim (c & wk), Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shamsur Rahman, Robbie Frylinck, Aminul Islam, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Amir, Shafiul Islam, Shahidul Islam
Rajshahi Royals: Liton Das (wk), Hazratullah Zazai, Shoaib Malik, Andre Russell (c), Ravi Bopara, Afif Hossain, Alok Kapali, Abu Jayed, Taijul Islam, Farhad Reza, Minhajul Abedin Afridi
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Key players
Khulna Tigers
Mushfiqur Rahim
Rilee Rossouw
Rajshahi Royals
Shoaib Malik
Andre Russell
