It is Match 10 of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2016 as Rangpur Riders lock horns with Dhaka Dynamites. The match will be played at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, Dhaka. The Riders are currently sitting at the top of the table while the Dynamites are not far behind, acquiring the second spot. Both the teams have so far been unbeaten with the Riders having a two out of two victories and Dynamites winning their matches. While Rangpur Riders will look to maintain their domination winning the third in the row, Dynamites will look to overtake them. Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2016: Points Table and Team Standings
Both the teams have heavyweight players. The Riders have the likes of Mohammad Shahzad and Shahid Afridi who are best known for their hard-hitting style of batting and are one of the best Twenty20 (T20) players of their respective national teams. There is Soumya Sarkar who can play a long innings besides hitting boundaries and sixes, which brings in stability to the innings. Sarkar has a lot of experience of playing in these conditions which will come in handy for the team.
Looking at the bowling, names like Rubel Hossain, Sohag Gazi and Arafat Sunny grab attention. The game-changer can be Afridi, with both bat and ball as he is still considered among the most successful limited-overs all-rounders despite a long absence from international cricket. Afridi turned the hero for the Riders in their previous game with a 4-wicket haul that restricted their opponents at a record-breaking 44 runs.
The Dynamites, led by Shakib Al Hasan, is among the strongest teams this season with big names who are in form presently. Starting from the skipper, Shakib, who is among the greatest players to be produced on Bangladesh soil to Kumar Sangakkara, Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell, the team looks to be full of stars and the names themselves create a pressure upon the opponents psychologically. The team has played up to the mark and inspired by the seniors and international players, the local youngsters have also chronicled on the field.
The match will be a head to head, looking at the amount of talent in both the sides and is expected to be a competition between two equal forces that is bound to be interesting. The key to success will the confidence and the team who succeeds in dealing with the nerves the right way will take the victory away.
Squads:
Rangpur Riders: Naeem Islam (C) Shahid Afridi, Soumya Sarkar, Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Shahzad, Gidron Pope, Mohammad Mithun, Babar Azam, Dasun Shanaka, Arafat Sunny, Richard Gleeson, Nasir Jamshed, Sachitra Senanayake, Rubel Hossain, Gihan Rupasinghe, Elias Sunny, Pinak Ghosh, Muktar Ali.
Dhaka Dynamites: Shakib Al Hasan (c), Nasir Hossain, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Ravi Bopara, Mosaddek Hossain Saikat, Sunzamul Islam, Dwayne Bravo, Alauddin Babu, Mehedi Maruf, Andre Russell, Mohammad Shahid, Irfan Sukkur, Mahela Jayawardene, Evin Lewis, Wayne Parnell, Seekkuge Prasanna, Suhrawadi Shuvo, Tanveer Haider, Usama Mir.
Time: 19.00 local | 18.30 IST
(Paulami Chakraborty, a singer, dancer, artist, and photographer, loves the madness of cricket and writes about the game. She can be followed on Twitter at @Polotwitts)