Rangpur Riders vs Comilla Victorians Prediction: Teams stacked up on both departments

Rangpur Riders and Comilla Victorians are going head to head in the Qualifier 1 Match of Bangladesh Premier League at Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh on 26 Feb 2024. The teams are pretty stacked up on both departments. Who will win this game of cricket?

The Rangpur Riders concluded the league stages of their BPL campaign at the summit of the points table, securing victory in nine out of their twelve matches. Their stellar performance earned them the highest number of wins in the league stages, accumulating 18 points and boasting the best net run rate in the competition. However, they faced a setback in their last league stage game against the Comilla Victorians.

Babar Azam emerged as the leading run-scorer for the Rangpur Riders, amassing 251 runs in the competition from his last six innings, maintaining an average exceeding 50. The versatile all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan contributed 249 runs in nine games, with an average of 27.66. Shakib Al Hasan also leads the bowling charts for Rangpur, claiming 17 wickets from eleven innings at an average of 15.52. Mahedi Hasan has added 15 scalps from twelve innings, averaging 16.93. The right-handed fast-medium bowler Hasan Mahmud has secured 13 wickets from 12 games, maintaining an average of 24.76. These players stand as the key contributors for the Riders in this upcoming contest.

Brandon King, Rony Talukdar, Shakib Al Hasan, Tom Moores, Nurul Hasan (wk/c), James Neesham, Mahedi Hasan, Shamim Hossain, Hasan Mahmud, Abu Hider Rony, Imran Tahir

The Comilla Victorians came close to matching the performance of the Rangpur Riders in this year's BPL, securing the second spot in the standings, with one less win than Rangpur and a total of 16 points. Towhid Hridoy has been the standout batsman for Comilla Victorians, amassing 383 runs in his last 12 innings with an average of 38.30. Litton Das contributed 292 runs in his previous 12 games, maintaining an average of 24.33. Jaker Ali has also performed well, scoring 179 runs in his last nine innings.

The slow left-arm bowler Tanvir Islam has been the standout performer with the ball for the team, claiming 12 wickets in his last ten games at an impressive average of 18.08. Mustafizur Rahman has secured 11 wickets from nine matches with an average of 23.90, while Matthew Forde has picked up ten victims in his last eight appearances with an average of 21.80. These players are expected to be the key contributors for the Comilla Victorians in the upcoming contest.

Litton Das (c/wk), Mahidul Islam Ankon, Towhid Hridoy, Moeen Ali, Jaker Ali, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Musfik Hasan, Tanvir Islam, Matthew Forde, Rishad Hossain

The Shere Bangla National Stadium pitch in Mirpur, Dhaka, for this game is a dynamic one. Traditionally favorable for batting, the surface is expected to provide assistance to spinners, particularly towards the conclusion of the second inning. Overall, though, the pitch is likely to favor the batsmen.

Scheduled for a Monday evening in Dhaka, the weather forecast indicates clear skies with a brief period of cloudiness. Although not threatening, the bowlers may not find much support from the weather. Rain interruptions are not anticipated during this contest.

Both teams enter this game with strong performances in the league stages, although both experienced losses in their last games, possibly due to complacency. We favor Comilla Victorians to win this contest based on their slightly superior overall record in the BPL. However, the teams are closely matched with little separating them.