Clash of titans

The business end of the second edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) T20 starts today with the 'Race to the Final' match between the defending champions Dhaka Gladiators and the impressive Sylhet Royals at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
As per the new format, similar to that of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the winner of today's clash between the two top group-stage finishers will go to the final, which will take place at the same venue on February 19.
All however will not be lost for the losing team, as it will face the winners of the first semifinal between the third- and fourth-placed teams in the second semifinal on February 17. The first semifinal will be held on February 16.
Today's game is expected to be a high-octane encounter as both sides have shown their mettle in the tournament. There is little to separate the teams as they won one game each against one another in the league battles.
Gladiators will be bolstered by the arrival of two explosive West Indies cricketers in Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard and their coach Ian Pont said that it would be interesting to see the revival of the battle between Gayle and Bangladesh and Sylhet Royals off-spinner Shohag Gazi, who had amazing success against the left-hander during the home series against West Indies in November-December last year.
“With those two players (Gayle and Pollard) coming in it is really great for our side. Chris Gayle is an amazing cricketer. His form has not been as he would wish but he loves Bangladesh. Last time he was here, I remember he went crazy at the crease and I think the Shohag Gazi-Gayle battle will be resumed tomorrow, which I guess will be interesting to see. And Pollard is on fire. He got a hundred against Australia and took three wickets in the last game, he is in fantastic form,” said Pont, adding that Sylhet is a very good side as they have played good cricket under the leadership of Mushfiqur Rahim so far in the tournament.
Sylhet Royals coach Mohammad Salahuddin however was not ready to give too much attention to the opposition's new recruits and he was confident about his team's success against Gladiators in today's match.
“Without any doubt, these two West Indies players are very dangerous in the T20 format but we are not focusing too much on them; rather we want to play our normal game. And the good thing is that even a defeat will not dash our hopes, so I hope our players can play their natural game,” said Salahuddin.
“Team combination is our key strength against any team. I believe our boys will give their best tomorrow as they did in the previous matches. We want to focus on our performance rather than considering who we are playing against,” he added. Sylhet will miss the services of Zimbabwean batsman Hamilton Masakadza, who was scheduled to fly for his country last night for national duty.