BPL 2017, Match 5 Preview: Chittagong Vikings vs Comilla Victorians

With most teams opting to go with a full-fledged spin attack in the Sylhet leg, Misbah-ul-Haq’s Chittagong Vikings will also do the same. Comilla will do something similar as well, but they have an all-rounder of Dwayne Bravo’s caliber, which adds so much flexibility. In what promises to a tight contest on the paper, Sylhet crowd will be up for an entertaining afternoon on Monday.

Whilst the title chase is well and truly on with a couple teams getting off to a brilliant start, it’ll be interesting to see how the veteran Misbah-ul-Haq copes with the captaincy for the first time since retirement. He has a good bunch of young local talents, which can work either way. He will be dependent heavily on Taskin Ahmed with the ball and Soumya Sarkar with the willow.

Nabi did a decent job as the captain in the preview game, but the loss was inevitable. He is likely to go with a similar unit this time around and he needs Dwayne Bravo to be at his best to reap good results. A lot more will be expected from the local troops, who didn’t show any venom in their attacks previous match.

Toss: Comilla Victorians won the toss and opted to field

Comilla Victorians (Playing XI): Liton Das(w), Imrul Kayes, Marlon Samuels, Jos Buttler, Alok Kapali, Mohammad Nabi(c), Dwayne Bravo, Mohammad Saifuddin, Rashid Khan, Arafat Sunny, Al-Amin Hossain

Chittagong Vikings (Playing XI): Anamul Haque(w), Soumya Sarkar, Luke Ronchi, Misbah-ul-Haq(c), Dilshan Munaweera, Luis Reece, Sikandar Raza, Subashis Roy, Suhrawadi Shuvo, Sunzamul Islam, Taskin Ahmed

Focus will be on

Soumya Sarkar (Chittagong)

The swashbuckling opener has proven his worth in South Africa and now, Soumya Sarkar will be experiencing a lot more pressure being the icon player for the Vikings. After all the injuries he’s gone through in the last few months, he certainly looks in good shape and this new tournament will be a breath of fresh air. It’ll be interesting to see who will be his opening partner on the day.

Dwayne Bravo (Comilla)

One of the greatest T20 cricketers ever, Dwayne Bravo relishes every moment of club cricket, no matter where he is playing. His IPL credentials are so amazing and to go with it, his overall T20 record is mind-boggling. He got off to a mediocre start this season, but Bravo’s ability can only be undermined at their own peril.

Playing combinations

Chittagong Vikings

Proteas opener Stiaan Van Zyl is expected to open the batting for the Vikings alongside the Icon player Soumya Sarkar. The skipper Misbah will probably be coming in at 3 to have a better impact on the game, followed by Anamul Haque, Jermaine Blackwood, Sikandar Raza, and Jeevan Mendis in the middle-order.

Their fast bowling assets are all Bangladeshi, with Taskin Ahmed spearheading the attack. Subashis Roy is the other fast bowler and their main strength will be their spinners. They might go with four frontline spinners in Sikandar Raza, Jeevan Mendis, Suhrawadi Shuvo, and Sanjamul Islam.

Comilla Victorians

Similar to the way they played the other day, Comilla’s innings will be opened by Imrul Kayes and Liton Das. Marlon Samuels will come in at 3, to go with Jos Buttler, Alok Kapali, Dwayne Bravo, Mohammad Nabi, Mohammad Saifuddin in the middle order.

Rashid Khan was mind-boggling with his spell and he will look to spearhead their attack once again. They have three decent pacers in Al-Amin Hossain, Saifuddin, and Dwayne Bravo. Apart from the regulars like Nabi and Arafat Sunny, they also have a decent 6th bowler in Marlon Samuels.

StatAttack

17 – Mohammad Nabi and Taskin picked up 17 wickets each last season for the Vikings.

2 – Vikings managed to qualify for the playoffs on two occasions in their history.