The third phase of the ongoing Akash-DTH Bangabandhu-Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) will resume with the high-voltage matches at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNCS) in Mirpur today. Day is a public holiday and so the BPL Governing Council prepared the fixture of the domestic blockbuster T20 cricket tournament with the changed time for the convenience of the local spectators because it is always a heavy turnover in weekly holiday in Bangladesh.

Star-studded Dhaka Platoon will round off Chattogram Challengers on the day’s first match which will begin at 2:00pm. Challengers also turned up to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) ground of the SBNCS to hold their pre-match day practice session with the entire contingent, where Mahmudullah Riyad was also present. But Riyad will not play the first match against Platoon due to his hamstring injury from where he is yet to heal completely.

Chattogram team manager Fahim Muntasir Sumit confirmed it to The Independent during their practice session yesterday. Sumit later said that Imrul Kayes will lead the team in absence of Mahmudullah.

At this moment, Chattogram are now on pole position at the points-table with the highest 10 points from seven outings with five wins and two losses. Dhaka, on the other hand, played one match less than Challengers and are languishing in third position with eight points from six encounters, where they conceded the identical two losses and four wins.

This will be the second meet of both Chattogram and Dhaka. They faced off each other first in the second leg in Chattogram, where the Challengers thrashed Dhaka by 16 runs in the high-scoring thriller, where Platoon had not present two key players, Tamim Iqbal and Wahab Riaz, in their squad. Tamim was bed-ridden with viral fever and groin niggles, while Wahab went back to Pakistan for his sister’s marriage ceremony because he is the prop of his family after his father’s hereafter.

This time it is turn for Dhaka to take their revenge for losing the first meet. They will take the opportunity in the absence of regular captain Mahmudullah. After Challengers’ practice session, stand-in captain Imrul Kayes spoke about wickets in Mirpur, which wickets are always unpredictable. But this time no one put up any question about pitches rather they all praised it for its good behavior.

Dhaka appeared in Mirpur in morning session but they were tight lipped. They have no major injury concern in the Platoon’s ranks. They’re taking the match against table-topper seriously.

Much-look balanced Khulna Tigers will be eyeing to find their way back to the winning ways and Rangpur Rangers, on the other hand, will be desperate to win another two crucial points while the two sides will lock horns with each other in the Akash-DTH Bangabandhu-Bangladesh Premier League in Mirpur today.

The 22nd match of the tournament is scheduled to be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNCS) in Mirpur at 7pm today.