Youth battles experience

Rajshahi Rangers captain Khaled Mashud (2nd from right) shares a light moment yesterday with his teammates on the eve of today's final of the Destiny Group NCL T20s against Kings of Khulna.Photo: STAR

All eyes will be eager to see how young Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan tackles shrewd tactician Khaled Mashud when the Kings of Khulna meet Rajshahi Rangers in the final of the Destiny Group National Cricket League T20s at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur today.
The money-spinning match will see the winners pocket 70 lac Taka (US$ 100,000) while the runners-up will be compensated with Tk 35 lac (US$ 50,000).
Bangladesh and Khulna captain Shakib was however looking for a good and entertaining contest in the final, so that the fans can enjoy the match.
"I want to see the fans enjoy the match fully. I am looking for a good contest because both sides struggled to make it to the final. I think my team is yet to perform its best and hopefully it happens tomorrow," said a confident Shakib, who is yet to make any impact as a batsman in the tournament.
But for an entertaining match, a prerequisite is a good pitch for the shortest version of the game, which was completely missing in the league stages. Shakib however believes that one day rest before the final may work positively.
"I hope the pitch will be little bit better that the ones we played in during the league matches because it got a one day rest. We executed our plan in the semifinal and I hope we can do the same in the final. We have a very skilled side where ten batsmen are clean strikers of the ball," he explained.
Tournament committee chairman and former national skipper Gazi Ashraf Hossain however saw little chance of the pitch changing behaviour.
"We advised the concerned people to try their best but you know it's impossible to change a pitch overnight. Still I believe it's not impossible to collect eight runs per over from this surface."
Shakib also has to deal with the bitter memory of losing the decisive Premier League match against Mashud. The ex-national struck a lucky boundary to stun Shakib's Abahani and confirm Mohammedan's title after a long break.
But the young man was not ready to bring that matter into the debate.
"I just forgot about it. It's a new game and new tournament, so our focus is on how we can play our best in the final," he said.
The Kings of Khulna tried hard to surprise their opponents by roping in India's dashing opening batsman Virender Sehwag. But that attempt was unsuccessful and they could only confirm middle-order batsman Ryan Bailey, who occasionally also bowls medium pace, from South Africa.
"We contacted with Sourav Ganguly but he declined for injury while Sehwag initially agreed to play but later learnt that he also has injury problem. We are yet to confirm hard-hitting Kolkata Knight Riders batsman Manoj Tiwary," informed Arman Islam, Kings of Khulna's team official.
Rajshahi Rangers skipper Masud however was focusing on his side's 'team spirit".
"True, we don't have big names in the team but we have a very good combination to win the final. I believe everybody will be inspired by their semifinal performance. Our main asset is our team spirit which is also a big advantage for us," said the former Bangladesh captain.
"I think it would be a good contest because both sides worked hard to move into the final," he added.
The final will kick off at 5.20pm with satellite channel ATN Bangla telecasting the match live while Bangladesh Betar will run live commentary.
There will be a fireworks show at the end of the match while music from the DJ stand and dancers will keep the T20 spirit going throughout the game.
Tickets will be available at the ticket counter adjacent to VIP gate of the stadium.
TICKET RATES FOR THE FINAL
VIP Grand Stand - Tk 100.00
Club House - Tk 30.00
Special Enclosure - Tk 20.00
Gallery - Tk 10.00