Khulna Titans vs Rangpur Riders, Bangladesh Premier League 2019, Today Match Prediction 22 Jan 2019

khut vs rgr Match Prediction & Analysis

It is the 25th match of the Bangladesh Premier Leagues 2019 and Khulna Titans would take on Rangpur Riders at the Shere Bangla National Stadium. The Titans have no hopes of qualifying for the play-offs having lost all but one of their seven games including the last one against Chittagong Vikings. Rangpur Riders on the other hand had a poor run in the middle that saw them lose three consecutive games. But with a star-studded side they would count on their chances in the next game. 

It would be interesting to see how Khulna Titans perform in the next game as they have shown their abilities with the bat in the previous two games and this should make the upcoming game interesting.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Khulna Titans Preview

One win after seven games summarizes the form of Khulna Titans this season. They lost to Rangpur earlier in the season and come to this game having lost against Comilla Victorians and Chittagong Vikings in their previous two games. 

Paul Stirling and Junaid Siddique do make a strong opening pair and they will need to give good start to the side which unfortunately hasn’t been the case. They have batted well in the last two games with Brendan Taylor, skipper Mahmudullah and Al-Amin having been among the runs. But the problem has been that they haven’t been able to fire together as a team. The side would hope to do better in the upcoming game. 

Their bowlers are under tremendous pressure having given away 186 and 214 runs in their last two games. Apart from David Wiese in the last game none of their bowlers can be proud about their efforts. Lasith Malinga is in poor form and same is the case with Subashis Roy and Taijul Islam. Mahedi Hasan has also proved to be ineffective which is adding to the woes of the skipper.

Khulna Titans Predicted Playing XI:

Junaid Siddique, Paul Stirling, Brendan Taylor (wk), Al-Amin, Mahmudullah (c), Ariful Haque, Taijul Islam, Al-Amin, David Wiese, Subashis Roy, Shariful Islam, Lasith Malinga

Khulna Titans Actual Playing XI:

Yasir Shah, M Junaid Siddique, BRM Taylor, Nazmul Hossain, Taijul Islam, Al Amin, Junaid Khan, Mahmudullah, Ariful Haque, D Wiese, Subashis Roy

Rangpur Riders Preview

Mashrafe Mortaza would have sensed relief winning against Sylhet Sixers in the last game. This came after three consecutive losses where the side seemed to be going nowhere.  

Chris Gayle isn’t setting things on fire as his side would have expected but Alex Hales and Rilee Rossouw played well in the last game. The entry of AB de Villiers adds the much needed firepower to their batting and he did play a good knock in the last game. Nahidul Islam and Mohammad Mithun make their lower order look incredibly strong especially with Mashrafe Mortaza in the mix. 

It is their bowlers who are struggling at the moment having conceded more than 180 runs in their last two games. Mashrafe Mortaza is doing well bit it is the lack of support from others which is creating problems for the side. Nazmul Islam, Shafiul Islam and Farhad Reza need to keep it tight at the other end for the side to do well in the upcoming game and rest of the tournament.

Rangpur Riders Predicted Playing XI:

Chris Gayle, Alex Hales, Rilee Rossouw, AB de Villiers, Mohammad Mithun (wk), Farhad Reza, Nahidul Islam, Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Nazmul Islam, Shafiul Islam, Sohag Gazi

Rangpur Riders Actual Playing XI:

Alex Hales, RR Rossouw, Nahidul Islam, Mashrafe Mortaza, S Gazi, Nazmul Islam, Shafiul Islam, Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Mohammad Mithun, Farhad Reza

Weather Conditions

It is expected to be bit hazy in Dhaka on 22nd January in the afternoon. This might just have that little bit more for the fast bowlers in the initial overs. But by and large the track has played well and batsmen have found it easy to score runs here. Spinners who bowl in the right areas would also enjoy bowling on this track.

VENUE

Shere Bangla National Stadium has seen many high scoring games so far especially those that have been played in the afternoon. Batting has looked easy on this wicket as the ball comes on to the bat easily. With shorter boundaries square of the wicket batsman can pick their spots and score quick runs in this ground. Spinners also had got good bargain out of the Shere Bangla pitch.

Toss: To Bat

Most of the afternoon games in Dhaka have seen the team batting first winning the game. The wicket is a good one to bat on in the afternoon. With the slight drop in temperatures in late afternoon it becomes lot easier to bowl and dew doesn’t affect the afternoon games and hence the side winning the toss would most likely decide to bat first.