BPL 2017, Match 26 Preview: Chittagong Vikings vs Sylhet Sixers

A battle of two wounded sides in the BPL will take place on Friday afternoon as Sylhet Sixers lock horns with Luke Ronchi-led Chittagong Vikings. Both sides are in a spot of bother right now and either of these teams will be putting their losing momentum to bed. But the one who loses this encounter will pretty much find it difficult to get back in the tournament.

Sylhet Sixers were off to a flying start in the home leg. They registered three big wins in three successive games, which made people tout them as one of the favorites to win the title. But in a span of 15 days, tables have turned quite dramatically. They lost four games in a row, which certainly keeps them on the back foot.

Chittagong never really got going in the tournament. Although Luke Ronchi and Soumya Sarkar played a couple of decent knocks, their middle order has let them down. No one is taking the responsibility on their shoulders to give them a decent finish, which puts them in this precarious situation.

Chittagong Vikings (Predicted XI): Luke Ronchi (C & wk), Stiaan van Zyl, Chris Jordan, Soumya Sarkar, Anamul Haque, Najibullah Zadran, Al-Amin, Taskin Ahmed, Sikandar Raza, Sunzamul Islam, Tanbir Hayder.

Sylhet Sixers (Predicted XI): Liam Plunkett, Tim Bresnan, Andre Fletcher, Shuvagata Hom, Nasir Hossain (C), Sabbir Rahman, Taijul Islam, Abul Hasan, Babar Azam, Danushka Gunathilaka, Nurul Hasan (wk).

Focus will be on

Chris Jordan (Chittagong Vikings)

Chris Jordan has enough potential to influence the match across all the departments, but his inconsistency kept haunting him. The all-rounder backs a punch with the willow coming in the middle order and is always decent in the death overs with the ball. Since the Vikings’ primary problem is their middle order, he batting at number 5 might provide a solution to Ronchi.

Babar Azam (Sylhet Sixers)

After staying away from the playing XI for a long time, Babar Azam has finally played a game this season. The man touted as the future of Pakistani cricket, Azam has been in stellar form, which should be a major boost for the Sixers. Though his form in the shortest format has been considerably poor, he can be a match-winner on his day.

Playing Combinations

Chittagong Vikings

Luke Ronchi and Soumya Sarkar will be their mainstays and they will open the innings. Anamul Haque Bijoy played a brilliant innings under pressure and he will retain his number 3 spot. Najibullah Zadran, Sikandar Raza, Stiaan Van Zyl, and Chris Jordan will be forming the middle order.

Sikandar Raza and Sunzamul Islam opened the bowling attack last time and were decent. Chris Jordan and Taskin Ahmed went for a plenty of runs and that cost them the game against the Titans. Al-Amin Hossain and Tanbir Haider are the other bowling options for Ronchi

Sylhet Sixers

Danushka Gunathilka will open the innings alongside Andre Fletcher for the Sylhet side, with Babar Azam coming in at number 3. Nasir Hossain and Sabbir Rahman played wonderfully in the previous game and they should continue that in this crucial game. Tim Bresnan, Nurul Hossain, and Shuvgata Hom will follow in the lower middle order.

Nasir Hossain with the new ball has been outstanding this season. Though Gunathilaka and Shuvgata Hom went for runs, Tim Bresnan and Abul Hasan did a fantastic job. Liam Plunkett too was very expensive and they have another decent spinning option in Taijul Islam.

StatAttack

35 – Soumya Sarkar needs 36 runs to complete 6,000 runs in professional cricket (List – A + First-Class + T20s)