Chattogram Challengers vs Dhaka Platoon, Bangladesh Premier League 2020, Today Match Prediction 18 Dec 2019

cgc vs dap Match Prediction & Analysis

Chattogram Challengers will host Dhaka Platoon at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram in the 12th match of Bangladesh Premier League season on Wednesday. Chattogram is currently enjoying the view from the top of the table with six points from their four matches so far. They have won three and lost just one match.

However, all of their matches have been quite close ones and their loss to Khulna by eight wickets was a big loss too. That explains why their Net Run Rate (NRR) is the third-worst in the tournament so far. Dhaka, on the other hand, has played a match lesser than Chattogram and find themselves placed at fourth with two wins and one loss so far.

Their NRR is quite decent too as they have won their two matches by fine margins and a win in this match might propel them to the top of the table. But Chattogram has been known for holding their nerves in crucial moments. So it would be interesting to see which team comes out on top in this contest.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Chattogram Challengers Preview

With a win in their final game against Sylhet Thunder, Chattogram Challengers are at the top of the points table with three wins in four matches. Lendl Simmons returned to the line-up and made 44 off 37 balls with Chadwick Walton moving down the order. With Avishka Fernando, Imrul Kayes and Mahmudullah forming a potent top-order alongside Simmons, Chattogram pack a punch this season. In their only loss this season, what stood out was a poor bowling show with the Khulna Tigers easily romping home to an eight-wicket win.

The bowling has since come together better with Nasum Ahmed and Rubel Hossain taking the new ball and Mehedi Hasan Rana proving to be wicket-taking with the ball at first-change. The left-arm pacer snared 4 for 17 in Chattogram's win over Sylhet on Tuesday. Kesrick Williams gave just 16 runs in his 2 overs in the death overs and the franchise will ponder if he can be given more responsibility in the death overs with Mehedi or Nasim bowling an extra over upfront.

Key players - Lendl Simmons, Kesrick Williams, Mahmudullah

Chattogram Challengers Predicted Playing XI:

Expected XI: Chadwick Walton, Lendl Simmons, Avishka Fernando, Imrul Kayes, Mahmudullah (c), Nasum Ahmed, Nurul Hasan (wk), Rubel Hossain, Muktar Ali, Kesrick Williams, Mehedi Hasan Rana

Chattogram Challengers Actual Playing XI:

Chadwick Walton, Nurul Hasan, Mahmudullah, Avishka Fernando, Muktar Ali, Nasum Ahmed, Kesrick Williams, Imrul Kayes, LMP Simmons, Nasir Hossain, Mehedi Hasan Rana

Dhaka Platoon Preview

Dhaka Platoon lost their opening game of BPL 2019 but have managed to turn the tide around with two successive wins. They currently have 4 points under their belt and are fourth in the points table, with a NRR of +0.484. The side has been led wonderfully by the experienced Tamim Iqbal and Anamul Haque, who have scored 110 and 100 runs respectively in the competition thus far. Iqbal started off the season by getting 5 in the first game against the Royals but made a fine 74 in the following game to take his team over the line.

Haque scored 62 in Dhaka’s last match against Thunder, and the duo will hold the aces yet again. Laurie Evans and Thisara Perera have chipped in with handy knocks as well, with the Sri Lankan scoring his runs at a strike rate of more than 209 in the three games so far.

The bowling department has been led by Perera as well, who is the team’s leading wicket-taker with 5 wickets. Wahab Riaz and Mashrafe Mortaza have three wickets apiece and have been economical as well, conceding runs at less than 8 an over this tournament. Mahedi Hasan and Shadab Khan are another partnership breakers, who will have the onus of picking wickets in the middle overs.

Key players: Thisara Perera, Shadab Khan, Tamim Iqbal

Dhaka Platoon Predicted Playing XI:

Probable XI: Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Tamim Iqbal, Wahab Riaz, Thisara Perera, Laurie Evans, Ariful Haque, Anamul Haque (wk), Jaker Ali, Shadab Khan, Mahedi Hasan, Hasan Mahmud

Dhaka Platoon Actual Playing XI:

Hasan Mahmud, Mashrafe Mortaza, Salauddin Sakil, Mominul Haque, Laurie Evans, Mahedi Hasan, Jaker Ali Anik, Thisara Perera, Asif Ali, SMSK Afridi, Anamul Haque

Weather Conditions

Though Chattogram witnessed a lot of high-scoring games last seaosn, we had a freshly laid pitch yielding an average scoring game on Tuesday at the same venue. That said, the pitch should turn out to be more batting friendly amd given the sunny weather, there is unlikely to be any intermission owing to weather.

Venue Details

The Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram is a popular cricket venue in Bangladesh now even though the Dhaka stadium stays the most premier. The ZACS Stadium has also witnessed historic occasions like Bangladesh’s first win against England in a World Cup and also the country's first ODI series win against South Africa. The pitch was freshly laid last game and should hold up well in a venue where run-scoring has usually been brisk in this league.

Toss: To Bowl

Chattogram successfully chased down a target on Tuesday and not once did they lose their way. Last season too, the teams batting second under lights had a pretty decent record even when chasing down big totals. So, the same should be preferred by the two captains since this is a Day-Night fitxure.