Rangpur Riders will be up against the Khulna Tigers in the 20th match of the Bangladesh Premier League 2024-25 season. The game will be played on 12th January 2025 at 6:00 PM IST at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.
Rangpur Riders are at the top of the points table with 6 wins in 6 matches. They’ve been the best team in the tournament by far and are yet to lose a game this season. They snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in their last game on the back of skipper Nurul Hasan’s exceptional performance. They’ll be eyeing their 7th consecutive win in this game.
Meanwhile, Khulna Tigers are in the 4th position with 2 wins and two losses in 4 games. They lost their last match against Sylhet Strikers by 8 runs. The Tigers have now lost two games in a row after winning their first two matches. They’ll be eager to get back on track in this match. Their bowlers need to be disciplined with their lines and lengths.
Rangpur Riders: Tawfique Khan, Steven Taylor, Saif Hassan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Nurul Hasan (c & wk), Mahedi Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Nahid Rana, Akif Javed
Khulna Tigers: William Bosisto, Mohammad Naim, Imrul Kayers, Darwish Rasooli, Mehidy Hasan Miraz (c), Mohammad Nawaz, Mahidul Islam Ankon (wk), Ziaur Rahman, Abu Haider Rony, Nasum Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud
The pitch at the Sylhet stadium is expected to be a good one for batting. There will be movement on offer for the pacers and there will be dew so it will be a tough ask for the spinners. Teams are expected to prefer chasing. A high-scoring encounter is on the cards as the conditions will be excellent for batting. Scores in the range of 180-200 are expected in this match.
It will be a clear day with no chance of rain. The temperature will be around 19 degrees Celsius at the start of the game.
Abu Haider (KHT)
Iftikhar Ahmed (RAN)
Mohammad Nawaz (KHT)
Mehidy Hasan Miraz (KHT)
Khushdil Shah (RAN)
Nahid Rana (RAN)
Nurul Hasan played a brilliant knock in the last match. He will bat 6 and may fetch points from wicket-keeping but there are more valuable picks than him in fantasy cricket for this match.
Based on current form, team balance and depth, the Rangpur Riders will be the clear favourites to win this match. Their bowlers have been in great form and the batters are also scoring runs consistently. Rangpur has excellent depth with both bat and ball and they should win this match.