Khulna Tigers vs Rajshahi Royals, Bangladesh Premier League 2020, Today Match Prediction 17 Jan 2020

klt vs rir Match Prediction & Analysis

High-flying Khulna Tigers will take on in-form Rajshahi Royals in the Final of the Bangladesh Premier League 2019 at Shere Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka. Both sides finished the preliminary stages as number one and two on the points table, and have already clashed three times in the competition where Khulna Tigers have managed to come out on top on two occasions.

Meanwhile, Rajshahi Royals secured a seven-wicket win over Khulna Tigers in a round-robin game played at Chattogram. In the Qualifier 2 game, Rajshahi Royals managed to sneak out a two-wicket win over Chattogram Challengers to qualify for the finals of the competition. Captain Andre Russell will be hoping that the side can bring their A-game to the table in order to clinch their maiden title.

On the other hand, Khulna Tigers delivered a spirited performance with bat and ball to reach the finals for the first time. Mushfiqur Rahim will be hoping that big players can come to the party and help them lift their maiden trophy.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Khulna Tigers Preview

Khulna Tigers outclassed Rajshahi Royals by 27 runs in the Qualifier 1 game, courtesy sublime performances from opener Najmul Hossain Shanto and pacer Mohammad Amir.  In the batting department, the team management will be hoping to see the return of a form of middle-order batsman Rilee Rossouw, who perished for low score in an all-important encounter against Rajshahi Royals, but even then he has amassed 458 runs in 13 matches at an average of 45.80 with four half-centuries to his name.

Opening batsman Najmul Hossain Shanto made a valuable contribution with the bat in the previous game played against Rajshahi Royals and the team management will be hoping for a similar kind of performance in the grand finale. Najmul Hossain delivered an excellent performance and finished the innings with scored 78 off 57 balls with the help of seven fours and four sixes. It was largely due to his efforts that Tigers were able to post a competitive score of 158 runs in their allotted 20 overs.

Left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir delivered a sensational bowling performance and finished with figures of 6 for 17 to help Khulna Tigers register a comfortable win over Rajshahi Royals in the Qualifier 1 game played at Dhaka on Monday. In the bowling department, the team is relying heavily on left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir, who now has claimed 18 wickets in 12 matches, but it will be interesting to see if he can deliver another special bowling performance in the finals at Dhaka.

Khulna Tigers Predicted Playing XI:

Mushfiqur Rahim (captain & wk), Shamsur Rahman, Mohammad Amir, Rilee Rossouw, Shafiul Islam, Robbie Frylinck, Najibullah Zadran, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mehidy Hasan, Shahidul Islam, Aminul Islam

Khulna Tigers Actual Playing XI:

RR Rossouw, Tanvir Islam, Mohammad Amir, N Zadran, Mehidy Hasan, Robbie Frylinck, Shahidul Islam, Shafiul Islam, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shamsur Rahman, Nazmul Hossain

Rajshahi Royals Preview

Rajshahi Royals registered a hard-fought win against Chattogram Challengers in the Qualifier 2 match, a courtesy stunning half-century from Captain Andre Russell. In the batting part, the team management will be depending on the likes of Shoaib Malik, who is franchising’ highest run-getter in the tournament with 446 runs in 14 matches at an average of 40.54 with three half-centuries to his name. He is well-supported by opener Liton Das, who scored 430 runs in 14 matches at an average of 33.07.

Besides Malik and Das, rookie all-rounder Afif Hossain has certainly made an impression this season and delivered credible performances for Royals in this competition. He has accumulated 360 runs in 14 matches with one half-century to his name.

In the bowling department, the team management will be banking on likes of Mohammad Irfan, Andre Russell, who collectively have taken 24 wickets for the side this season. Left-arm pacer Mohammad Irfan certainly was the star performer for Royals in the game played against Chattogram Challengers. He finished with figures of 2 for 16 in his four-over spell. Mohammad Nawaz and Alok Kapali delivered excellent spells for the side in the middle overs of the innings. Nawaz picked up important wickets of captain Mahmudullah and wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan, whereas Kapali dismissed in-form Chadwick Walton to restrict Challengers to a modest total.

Rajshahi Royals Predicted Playing XI:

Liton Das, Afif Hossain, Shoaib Malik, Irfan Sukkur (wk), Alok Kapali, Andre Russell (captain), Farhad Reza, Mohammad Nawaz, Kamrul Islam, Abu Jayed, Mohammad Irfan

Rajshahi Royals Actual Playing XI:

Alok Kapali, I Sukkur, Kamrul Islam, Mohammad Nawaz, Liton Das, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Irfan, Abu Jayed, Afif Hossain, Farhad Reza, Andre Russell

Weather Conditions

The pitch at Dhaka is expected to be full of runs, whereas the team batting first, will have an advantage in this grand finale. The weather forecast for the game is to be going to be played at Rajkot is going to be bright and sunny.

Venue Details

Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka is going to be host the grand finale between Khulna Tigers and Rajshahi Royals. Khulna Tigers will take heart from the fact that they have won three games out of the last four played against Rajshahi Royals in the competition.

Toss: To Bowl

Both the teams will be looking to win the toss and bat first in this grand finale. Chasing is always a tough ask at this venue. Only two teams have managed to lift the trophy by batting second in the finals of Bangladesh Premier League.