Khulna Titans will face defending champion Dhaka Dynamites in a crucial BPL 2017 tie at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka Tuesday.
Khulna have played three matches so far, winning their last two encounters. Their only loss came against Dhaka in the Sylhet phase of the money-spinning tournament. The Titans players spent a relaxed day on the field as there was only optional practice at the Mirpur academy ground. The cricketers who did not take part in the last game against Chittagong Vikings trained Monday.
Dhaka on the other hand are flying high as they won against Sylhet Sixers comprehensively in their previous match. Dhaka have plenty of firepower in their batting line up, including the likes of Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi and the West Indies’ Evin Lewis. Khulna also have some big hitters in their rank in the form of the West Indies’ Carlos Brathwaite and Chadwick Walton, among others. So it will be a fascinating contest Tuesday afternoon.In the other game of the day at the same venue, Comilla Victorians will face Chittagong Vikings in the evening. Comilla have won two matches out of three while Chittagong have been victorious once in three games.
Chittagong middle-order batsman Sikandar Raza believes they are not struggling, despite their two losses, and still searching the right balance regarding team combination.
“I don’t think struggling is the right word. I think we have not really managed to get the results our way. It’s too early to panic anyway. You never know, we may win three out of three in the next three matches. So, it’s too early to panic. We are still finding the right combination. It always takes time,” said Raza after practice at the home of cricket Monday.“I am pretty sure we will find the right combination within one or two games to go forward and that will give us a great chance to qualify for the playoff, which is our target at the moment,” he added.
Raza praised Khulna batsmen Brathwaite and Ariful Haque for their aggressive batting Sunday, which proved to be the turning point of their game.
“I thought it was quite a high-scoring match. They ended up scoring 50 in the last three overs, I mean Carlos and the other partner batted exceptionally well. I do think as the tournament progresses you will see high-scoring matches in Dhaka as well,” he explained.
The Khulna-Dhaka game begins at 1pm while the Comilla-Chittagong match gets underway at 6pm.TUESDAY'S MATCHESDhaka Dynamites v Khulna Titans, 1pmComilla Victorians v Chittagong Vikings, 6pmBoth the games will be held at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka
Thursday, April 25, 2024
