Dhaka Dynamites head coach Khaled Mahmud on Sunday termed his side as underdogs ahead of their eliminator match of the sixth Bangladesh Premier League against Chittagong Vikings at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur today.
The match is scheduled to start at 1:30pm and will be televised live on GTV and Maasranga TV.
Dhaka and Chittagong had a similar run in the tournament as both the teams had to wait until the final phase of the group-stage to qualify for the play-offs despite starting the competition on a high note.
Until the middle of the tournament, Dhaka and Chittagong held the first two spots in the league-table, winning most of their matches to indicate a top finish in points-table before failing miserably in the second half of the league phase.
Dhaka, who won their first four games, had their qualification chances on doubt when they lost five consecutive matches before winning their last league match against Khulna Titans by six wickets on Saturday to confirm their play-off berth.
Chittagong, on the other hand, won six out of their first seven games but lost their momentum after the matches moved to their home ground in Chattogram where they conceded three defeats in a row.
However, they defeated Dhaka in their final match in Chattogram to break the home curse before losing their last league match against Sylhet Sixers to finish third in points-table.
Dhaka and Chittagong produced two thrilling matches when they met in the league-stage and on both occasions Chittagong came on top as they beat Dhaka by three wickets and 11 runs respectively in Dhaka and Chattogram.
‘As we lost in both the occasions, we will definitely be going into this match as underdogs,’ Mahmud told reporters at National Cricket Academy in Mirpur.
‘I think Mushfiq [Mushfiqur Rahim] has led from the front. He has played some really good innings and he is in great form in this tournament [scored second highest 418 runs]. Apart from him, others have also done well. Deport [Cameron] has played two very good innings against us.
‘Their bowlers –Rahi [Abu Jayed], Khaled [Ahmed] also have been very steady in the tournament so far. Their new bowler Hardus [Viljoen] is a good bowler. Robbie Frylinck is also a great match winner. In this competition they are a very good competitive team,’ he added.
Chittagong received a blow on Sunday when their middle-order batsmen Mosaddek Hossain suffered a groin injury on his right foot during their practice and was likely to miss the game.
With Afghanistan duo – Mohammad Shahzad and Najibullah Zadran already leaving the team for national duty, Chittagong will mostly rely on their local players and hope to get Frylinck back in action.
‘Actually we don’t have big hitters like their team. We are lacking behind in that and the difference is only that,’ Chittagong pacer Khaled Ahmed told reporters in Mirpur.
‘Dhaka is a big team. But we don’t have a problem with that. We beat them in last two matches. Inshallah if we play good cricket, then we will definitely win the match,’ he added.
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