High-flying Dhaka will need to be wary of Chittagong's fantastic four - captain Tamim Iqbal, Gayle, Taskin Ahmed and Mohammad Nabi DHAKA TRIBUNEChittagong also have a very balanced squad at their disposal and alongside Dhaka, are one of the tournament favourites.
Big-hitting West Indian Chris Gayle has already lightened up the tournament with his power hitting. Opener and skipper Tamim Iqbal is also in red-hot form as the Chittagong lad is currently the highest run-getter of the competition with 351 runs. He has scored back-to-back fifties so the Dhaka bowlers will need to be on their guard against Chittagong's opening duo.
Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi is also playing superbly, be it with ball or bat. He is currently the highest wicket-taker of the tournament with 17 wickets. He has also scored 213 runs with a staggering strike rate of 182.05.
The experienced Shoaib Malik is also one of their batting strengths. The Pakistan all-rounder has scored 178 runs in six innings so far.
Chittagong have won five matches in a row and will try to carry the momentum forward when they take on Dhaka. Gayle, Malik and Tamim did not practise on Thursday but the rest of the Chittagong squad looked quite serious during training.
On the eve of the game, Chittagong top-order batsman Jahurul Islam said they are determined to register yet another solid team display.
“Dhaka are one of the favourites in the tournament. The last time we met them, we lost (in Chittagong). At that time, our confidence as a team was not upto the mark. But now, we are playing good cricket. We want to carry it forward. Hopefully we will play good [Friday] and post a win,” Jahurul told the media at the Bangladesh Cricket Board academy ground.
In the other game of the day at the same venue, Khulna Titans will lock horns with holders Comilla Victorians. Khulna have 12 points from 10 matches while the struggling Comilla have six points from the same number of outings as the former.FRIDAY'S MATCHESComilla Victorians v Khulna Titans, 1:30pmDhaka Dynamites v Chittagong Vikings, 6:15pmBoth games will be held at SBNS, Mirpur POINTS TABLETEAMS M W L PTSDhaka 10 7 3 14Chittagong 10 6 4 12Khulna 10 6 4 12Rajshahi 11 5 6 10Rangpur 10 5 5 10Barisal 11 4 7 8Comilla 10 3 7 6Table-toppers Dhaka Dynamites will face the in-form Chittagong Vikings in the fourth edition of the Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 in Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Friday.
The clash of these two heavyweights has been regarded as a dress-rehearsal ahead of the upcoming playoffs. Dhaka have won seven out of 10 match, earning 14 points, while Chittagong have been victorious six times in the same number of outings as the capital city outfit and find themselves second with 12 points.
The star-studded Dhaka side are one of the tournament favourites and have displayed some dominant performances in the last few matches. West Indies' opening batsman Evin Lewis and all-rounder Andre Russell have improved their squad furthermore with the former playing a blistering knock of 75 in his very first BPL 4 appearance.
Russell on the other hand is one of the best all-rounders in world cricket, especially in the shorter formats. He can change the game any time with his big-hitting ability or clever bowling.
Another Windies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo is also performing consistently in the ongoing tournament. Although he has not contributed much with the bat, his death-over bowling has been exceptional so far.
Sri Lankan spinner Seekkuge Prasanna is another overseas player who is playing well for Dhaka. The leg-spinner is giving good support, especially in the middle part of an innings.
Lankan legends Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene did not feature in the last match which goes to show how much strength Dhaka have as a unit.
Dhaka icon and captain Shakib al Hasan is obviously the trump-card of the side and the star all-rounder has also done justice to his name by performing consistently.
High-flying Dhaka will need to be wary of Chittagong's fantastic four - captain Tamim Iqbal, Gayle, Taskin Ahmed and Mohammad Nabi DHAKA TRIBUNEChittagong also have a very balanced squad at their disposal and alongside Dhaka, are one of the tournament favourites.
Big-hitting West Indian Chris Gayle has already lightened up the tournament with his power hitting. Opener and skipper Tamim Iqbal is also in red-hot form as the Chittagong lad is currently the highest run-getter of the competition with 351 runs. He has scored back-to-back fifties so the Dhaka bowlers will need to be on their guard against Chittagong's opening duo.
Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi is also playing superbly, be it with ball or bat. He is currently the highest wicket-taker of the tournament with 17 wickets. He has also scored 213 runs with a staggering strike rate of 182.05.
The experienced Shoaib Malik is also one of their batting strengths. The Pakistan all-rounder has scored 178 runs in six innings so far.
Chittagong have won five matches in a row and will try to carry the momentum forward when they take on Dhaka. Gayle, Malik and Tamim did not practise on Thursday but the rest of the Chittagong squad looked quite serious during training.
On the eve of the game, Chittagong top-order batsman Jahurul Islam said they are determined to register yet another solid team display.
“Dhaka are one of the favourites in the tournament. The last time we met them, we lost (in Chittagong). At that time, our confidence as a team was not upto the mark. But now, we are playing good cricket. We want to carry it forward. Hopefully we will play good [Friday] and post a win,” Jahurul told the media at the Bangladesh Cricket Board academy ground.
In the other game of the day at the same venue, Khulna Titans will lock horns with holders Comilla Victorians. Khulna have 12 points from 10 matches while the struggling Comilla have six points from the same number of outings as the former.FRIDAY'S MATCHESComilla Victorians v Khulna Titans, 1:30pmDhaka Dynamites v Chittagong Vikings, 6:15pmBoth games will be held at SBNS, Mirpur POINTS TABLETEAMS M W L PTSDhaka 10 7 3 14Chittagong 10 6 4 12Khulna 10 6 4 12Rajshahi 11 5 6 10Rangpur 10 5 5 10Barisal 11 4 7 8Comilla 10 3 7 6
High-flying Dhaka will need to be wary of Chittagong's fantastic four - captain Tamim Iqbal, Gayle, Taskin Ahmed and Mohammad Nabi DHAKA TRIBUNEChittagong also have a very balanced squad at their disposal and alongside Dhaka, are one of the tournament favourites.
Big-hitting West Indian Chris Gayle has already lightened up the tournament with his power hitting. Opener and skipper Tamim Iqbal is also in red-hot form as the Chittagong lad is currently the highest run-getter of the competition with 351 runs. He has scored back-to-back fifties so the Dhaka bowlers will need to be on their guard against Chittagong's opening duo.
Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi is also playing superbly, be it with ball or bat. He is currently the highest wicket-taker of the tournament with 17 wickets. He has also scored 213 runs with a staggering strike rate of 182.05.
The experienced Shoaib Malik is also one of their batting strengths. The Pakistan all-rounder has scored 178 runs in six innings so far.
Chittagong have won five matches in a row and will try to carry the momentum forward when they take on Dhaka. Gayle, Malik and Tamim did not practise on Thursday but the rest of the Chittagong squad looked quite serious during training.
On the eve of the game, Chittagong top-order batsman Jahurul Islam said they are determined to register yet another solid team display.
“Dhaka are one of the favourites in the tournament. The last time we met them, we lost (in Chittagong). At that time, our confidence as a team was not upto the mark. But now, we are playing good cricket. We want to carry it forward. Hopefully we will play good [Friday] and post a win,” Jahurul told the media at the Bangladesh Cricket Board academy ground.
In the other game of the day at the same venue, Khulna Titans will lock horns with holders Comilla Victorians. Khulna have 12 points from 10 matches while the struggling Comilla have six points from the same number of outings as the former.FRIDAY'S MATCHESComilla Victorians v Khulna Titans, 1:30pmDhaka Dynamites v Chittagong Vikings, 6:15pmBoth games will be held at SBNS, Mirpur POINTS TABLETEAMS M W L PTSDhaka 10 7 3 14Chittagong 10 6 4 12Khulna 10 6 4 12Rajshahi 11 5 6 10Rangpur 10 5 5 10Barisal 11 4 7 8Comilla 10 3 7 6