Khulna Titans vs Sylhet Sixers, Bangladesh Premier League 2019, Today Match Prediction 23 Jan 2019

khut vs syls Match Prediction & Analysis

The 28th game of the 2019 Bangladesh Premier Leagues will see a clash between two of the bottom hunters in the season.

Khulna Titans have won a game after having played right games. Sylhet Sixers are slightly better with two wins in their seven games. Both the sides have thrown away games which they should have won with their poor bowling and lack depth as far as their bowling resources are concerned. 

It has been a dull season so far for both the sides but given their form they look well matched though Sixers would still be considered a better team. A win here might restore some confidence for both the sides and it would be interesting to see who walks out happy from the ground. 

TEAMS PREVIEW

Khulna Titans Preview

Three back to back losses doesn’t inspire much confidence about any side and the story for Khulna Titans has pretty much been of despair. One win in eight games just talks a lot about the struggle the team is through at the moment. 

The opening slot is the worrying factor for the side as the new pair of Al-Amin and Junaid Siddique didn't really set the scoreboard on fire. The middle order performed well in the last game with Brendan Taylor, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, skipper Mahmudullah and David Wiese batting well. They will need to repeat their performance in the next game to create a scope of winning. 

186, 214 and 183 - that's the number of runs the bowlers have given away in the last three games and this is the reason the side finds itself at the bottom of the table. David Wiese was the only one who bowled well with Yasir Shah, Taijul Islam and Junaid Khan being taken to the cleaners. The fate of the team would solely depend on how the bowlers perform in the next game. 

Khulna Titans Predicted Playing XI:

Al-Amin, Junaid Siddique, Brendan Taylor (wk), Mahmudullah (c), Najmul Hossain Shanto, David Wiese, Ariful Haque, Yasir Shah, Taijul Islam, Subashis Roy, Junaid Khan

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

Sylhet Sixers Preview

With back to back losses against Dhaka Dynamites and Rangpur Riders, Sylhet Sixers aren't surely in the best frame of mind. The loss of regular skipper David Warner due to injury just compounds the problem for the side. 

They batted exceedingly well in the last two games especially the last one against Rangpur Riders. Liton Das is stroking the ball well while Sabbir Rahman played an electrifying knock. They would miss David Warner in the next game but Jason Roy coming in strengthens the batting. Nicholas Pooran and Jaker Ali make a good lower order. 

The side struggled with its bowling in the last game. Not being able to defend 194 runs after an early wicket is unpardonable but they just didn't bowl at the right places. Apart from Sandeep Laminchhane none of the bowlers looked anywhere near troubling opponent batsmen. Mohammad Irfan and Taskin Ahmed need to bowl well in the next game and they would expect good support from Mehedi Hassan Rana who is going through a poor run at the moment. 

Sylhet Sixers Predicted Playing XI:

Liton Das (wk), Jason Roy, Sabbir Rahman, Afif Hossain, Nicolas Pooran, Jaker Ali, Alok Kapali, Wayne Parnell, Sandeep Lamichhane, Mehedi Hasan Rana, Taskin Ahmed

Sylhet Sixers Actual Playing XI:

Liton Das, Taskin Ahmed, S Tanvir, Mohammad Irfan, Alok Kapali, Nicholas Pooran, Sabbir Rahman, Afif Hossain, Jaker Ali Anik, Mohammad Nawaz, Nasir Hossain

Weather Conditions

The weather is expected to be cool in the evening at Dhaka on January 23. The slightly hazy conditions might offer something for the fast bowlers early in the first innings. By and large the pitch is expected to remain true throughout the game while dew late in the evening would make it slightly difficult for the side bowling second. 

Venue

It is a quintessential T20 venue where batsmen love to hit the ball and we have witnessed several high scoring games so far. The ball comes on to the bat well and with shorter boundaries around the square most batsmen fancy their chances. In evening games spinners have a tough time bowling in the second innings though they have got good returns out of the pitch early in the evening. 

Toss: To Bowl

It’s a 6:00 PM game at Dhaka and dew would be a factor in here as we have seen in almost all evening games so far. Bowling in the second innings is tough especially for the spinners. Sides bowling first have won most evening games at this ground this season and the captain winning the toss would choose to bowl first by conventional wisdom.