da fezbet： After having been skitted for 96 – their lowest score in the BPL – Tamim’s men need to lift their batting if they are to topple Rangpur and join Dhaka in the final
da dobrowin： The Preview by Mohammad Isam09-Dec-2017Big pictureRangpur Riders and Comilla Victorians will battle it out in the second qualifier to determine who will face Dhaka Dynamites in the final of this BPL season. Both Rangpur and Comilla have plenty of international stars who have lit up the league. Rangpur, however, have had a better build-up to this clash, after having crushed an impressive Khulna side in the Eliminator. Chris Gayle unleashed his firepower, his 14 sixes entertained the Mirpur crowd as much as it did his team-mates and the Rangpur owners.Comilla have racked up nine wins – the most by any side in the tournament – but their confidence was dented by a heavy loss against Dhaka in the first qualifier. In pursuit of 192, Comilla crashed to 96 all out in 18 overs with only captain Tamim Iqbal passing 30.Tamim and the other Bangladesh internationals such as Imrul Kaues and Liton Das need to step up further under pressure. Marlon Samuels and Shoaib Malik have been among the runs, but Jos Buttler has struggled on the slow, dry pitches.Comilla’s bowling, however, looks in good shape with offspinner Mahedi Hasan attacking the pads in the Powerplay and Hasan Ali attacking the stumps with the end overs.Form guideRangpur Riders: WLWLW (completed matches, most recent first)
Comilla Victorians: LWLWWIn the spotlightThe wait for a Jos Buttler blitz in this BPL continues. He has managed only 199 runs in 12 innings with just one fifty. Buttler’s last five innings have been particularly poor: 5,3,11,5 and 4.Brendon McCullum, another big hitter, hasn’t fired like he can. He has only 152 runs in 10 innings but his strike-rate of 97.43 is more worrying.Team newsRangpur have Ziaur Rahman, Shahriar Nafees, Isuru Udana and Samuel Badree as replacement options but it is unlikely that they will break the winning XI that won the Eliminator with ease.Rangpur Riders (probable): 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Johnson Charles, 3 Brendon McCullum, 4 Mohammad Mithun (wk), 5 Ravi Bopara, 6 Nahidul Islam, 7 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 8 Sohag Gazi, 9 Lasith Malinga, 10 Nazmul Islam, 11 Rubel HossainComilla could consider replacing Dwayne Bravo, who leaked 45 runs on Friday, with Graeme Cremer.Comilla Victorians (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal (capt), 2 Liton Das (wk), 3 Imrul Kayes, 4 Jos Buttler, 5 Marlon Samuels, 6 Shoaib Malik, 7 Mohammad Saifuddin, 8 Mahedi Hasan, 9 Dwayne Bravo/ Graeme Cremer, 10 Hasan Ali, 11 Al-Amin HossainPitch and conditionsIt rained in Dhaka on Saturday and Sunday’s forecast doesn’t seem very promising either. The pitch, which has been under the covers, is likely to offer some assistance to the bowlers.Stats and TriviaComilla had beaten Rangpur twice in the group stage.Comilla’s 96 all out in the first qualifier was their lowest total in the BPL.
