Khulna Tigers vs Rangpur Riders, BPL 2023, Today Match Prediction 17 January 2023

klt vs rgr Match Prediction & Analysis

Khulna Tigers are in deep trouble with their batting inconsistencies. And even when they did manage to put a decent total on the board, the bowlers failed miserably.

Overall, the bowlers have been more consistent with Wahab Riaz and Nasum Ahmed leading the effort. This will be the 5th consecutive match played at this venue in Chattogram.

The teams batting first on this ground seem to be struggling to get to a competitive score. Only Fortune Barishal managed to score 170+ on both occasions when they batted first here.

Toss can play a key role here as teams batting second seem to find it easier to chase down a total. Azam Khan and Yasir Ali will be key players for Khulna Tigers in the middle order.

Whereas, the veteran all-rounder Shoaib Malik holds the key to success in the batting for Rangpur Riders. Sikandar Raza is a star all-rounder who missed the last game for the Riders after successive failures. He is a wicket-taking bowler and the skipper would likely bring him back for this match.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Khulna Tigers Preview

The bowlers have come good for Khulna Tigers when they were defending low totals. In their opening game against Dhaka Dominators, 3 of their 5 bowlers had an economy of under 6.

Whereas, in the last game against Rangpur Riders at this same venue, the Khulna bowlers picked 6 wickets while defending 130 runs. In both of these matches, the game went right down to the 20th Over, courtesy of some tight bowling.

That’s the good news for Khulna Tigers. The bad news is their batting has been inconsistent, to say the least. Their scores in their last three outings have been 130 all-out, 178-5, and 113-8.

This shouldn’t be the case considering the depth in this batting lineup. There is Sabbir Rahman, a 31-year-old right-handed batsman with almost 10 years of international experience, batting at number 6.

And from 7 to 9, Khulna Tigers have 3 bowling all-rounders including Mohammad Saifuddin who’s the local boy in Chattogram. All they need is an inspiring performance at the top like the hundred from Azam Khan that came against Chattogram Challengers in Dhaka.

Tamim Iqbal, as one of the senior players in the side, must lead from the front. And others like Sharjeel Khan, Azam Khan, and Yasir Ali need to strike partnerships in the middle if the Tigers are to bounce back.

Wahab Riaz, Nasum Ahmed, and Nahidul Islam will be the key bowlers to watch out for in this setup.

Khulna Tigers Predicted Playing XI:

Tamim Iqbal, Sharjeel Khan, Habibur Rahman, Azam Khan (wk), Yasir Ali (c), Sabbir Rahman, Nahidul Islam, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Saifuddin, Amad Butt, Nasum Ahmed

Khulna Tigers Actual Playing XI:

Munim Shahriar, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Mohammad Saifuddin, Nahidul Islam, Azam Khan, Paul Van Meekeren, Wahab Riaz, Nasum Ahmed, Tamim Iqbal, Amad Butt, Yasir Ali

Rangpur Riders Preview

Rangpur Riders can’t afford to depend on Shoaib Malik’s consistency in the long run. There are hardly any other batters who are reliable at the moment.

As such, if Malik falls cheaply, Riders will be on a slippery slope. Rony Talukdar and Mahedi Hasan are two key batsmen in the top order. Rangpur Riders need them to fire in the early stage of the game to push the run rate high and set a platform for a good finish.

Sikandar Raza failed to get going at number 4 in back-to-back matches and was dropped from the XI against Khulna Tigers. But his contributions with the ball cannot be ignored.

Raza picked 2 for 23 against Comilla and 2 for 14 against Fortune Barishal and was the top team bowler in that game. 

Talukdar scored a brilliant 67 off 31 balls in their opening game of the season and followed it up with a crucial 40 off 28 in their next game. He is one key batsman to watch out for in the top order.

However, if Mohammad Naim and Mahedi Hasan don’t start firing at the top, the pressure on Malik will increase and things would get difficult for Riders.

Robiul Haque, Rakibul Hasan, and Hasan Mahmud are the wicket-taking bowlers in this side to watch out for. Mahedi Hasan is also crucial with the ball and though he hasn’t been successful, he’s quite economical.

Rangpur Riders Predicted Playing XI:

Mohammad Naim, Rony Talukdar, Saim Ayub, Mahedi Hasan, Shoaib Malik, Shamim Hossain, Nurul Hasan (c & wk), Sikandar Raza, Robiul Haque, Hasan Mahmud, Rakibul Hasan

Rangpur Riders Actual Playing XI:

Hasan Mahmud, Parvez Hossain Emon, Rakibul Hasan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mahedi Hasan, Shamim Hossain, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Naim Sheikh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Shoaib Malik, Rony Talukdar

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The pitch is known to be a batting belter and that was seen in a couple of games this season when Fortune Barishal batted first. The pitch seems to have become a bit slow and even in successful run chases, teams have played more cautiously. The weather will be clear and sunny with a high of 26 degrees Celsius in Chattogram.

Venue Details

Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium has hosted 4 games so far this season and will host 8 more matches before the Bangladesh Premier League moves to Dhaka and then Sylhet. The average 1st innings score at this ground is 168 runs and teams are struggling to even reach that par total lately. Looking at the batting struggles in both these sides, a 175 total can be a highly competitive one at this venue.

Toss: To Bowl

It hasn’t been easy batting first at this ground. And with in-form bowling attacks, both teams would prefer to bowl first and restrict the opposition to a par score and chase it down with ease. Historically, neither choice had much of an impact on the match result whether bat first or second.