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Sylhet Strikers will look for their first win in this edition of the Bangladesh Premier League when they take on the table-toppers Rangpur Riders, in the first match of the Sylhet phase at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium today.

The match begins at 1:30pm, and T Sports and GTV will televise the game live.

Sylhet, the runners-up of the 2023 edition, have so far played only one match in Mirpur while they are scheduled to play five matches on their ‘home ground.’

The format of the BPL is such that there’s no such thing as home or away. Still, Sylhet will feel at home when they begin their campaign at the stadium in Lakkatura. 

‘Of course we will expect something good,’ said Dollar Mahmud, the fielding coach of the franchise.

‘The good thing is that we’re playing at our home. Though there’s no such thing as home ground in BPL, we will be kind of playing in our home ground.’

Apart from the name, the reason behind Sylhet feeling ‘home’ is that the supporters are expected to turn in numbers and support the team. 

Dollar expects that this will boost up his team.

‘Our preparation has been good; we’ve come here a few days back. The crowd will be supporting us. The players should be delivering what they’re expected to. Inshallah we will return to the winning phase.’ 

Sylhet’s only match so far was against Rangpur—the same opposition they will face today. They failed to chase 155 as Nahid Rana was too hot to handle for them. 

Rangpur, on the other hand, are on a winning streak as they’re yet to be beaten in their three matches. They even blew away the defending champion, Fortune Barishal, in the Dhaka phase. 

Tamim Iqbal-led Barishal have so far played two matches. They chased down 197 against Durbar Rajshahi—their opponent in today’s match.

Barishal, however, failed to stand up against Rangpur. 

Rajshahi have also had mixed results so far. They failed to defend 197 against Rangpur while getting past Dhaka Capitals. But they were on the wrong side of the table when Chittagong Kings posted 219—highest so far in this season thanks to a superb hundred by Pakistani Usman Khan.