Dhaka upbeat on toppling Rajshahi in high-voltage BBPL clash

The ongoing Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BBPL) is all set to experience a high-voltage clash tomorrow, when Dhaka Platoon will take on Rajshahi Royals in a bid to bolster their position in the tournament at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium here.

Apart from being a prestigious match, the stake is also high for Dhaka to make a giant leap towards the play-off berth. Despite being the strong team on paper, Dhaka is at the fourth position in the point table with eight points from seven games. A win could keep them ahead in terms of sealing the play-off berth.

Rajshahi sits at the second position in the point table with 10 points from six matches and could be much relaxed given the fact that they have ample matches in hands. They so far have been the most consistent side in the tournament, losing just one game. But they knew a defeat may well ruin their momentum. And Dhaka is not an easy opposition to prey despite being little off-colour of late.

Dhaka's form remains topsy-turvy as they are not as consistent as they should be according to their strength. They had already lost three matches and won four. In the last match against Chattogram Challengers, their much-vaunted batting line up crumbled under pressure to be restricted to 124-9 and duly lost the game by six wickets.

Dhaka Platoon coach Mohammad Salahuddin thereby emphasized on rectifying the mistakes they had done in the batting.

"Our batting should be up to the mark. Our top order couldn't click as per the expectation. I hope they will get better and better as the tournament progresses," Salahuddin said here today.

However, he was not that much worried with the bowling, which played their part well in almost every game.

"I think bowling-wise we are very good team. The bowlers clicked in almost every game. That's why I am not worried with the bowling," he added. Even though a defeat against Rajshahi won't spoil their hope of playing the play-off phase, Salahuddin said that they need to win it to keep their chances intact.

"Rajshahi has been playing really well in the tournament. I think they are one of the most favourite sides in this tournament so far," he revealed.

"I think for us, the match is very crucial because a win could keep our chances intact in the tournament. We have no other way but to win the game. Hopefully we will put up the best performance.

In the last match we couldn't play to our potential. So if our batsman could click, hopefully we'll emerge out as the winner of the game," he concluded.