Khulna Titans vs Sylhet Sixers Prediction

KT Team News

Khulna Titans continue to rotate their overseas players as they look to find a winning formula. Lasith Malinga dropped out last time, having been expensive in the previous game, as Junaid Khan returned, while Yasir Shah finally made his first appearance too – Paul Stirling making way. Brendan Taylor and David Wiese appear to have nailed down two of the four overseas players, however, with Junaid Khan making a good case for the third. It leaves Malinga, Shah and Stirling competing for one place.

KT Key Players

Junaid Khan returned last time out and dismissed Chris Gayle in the penultimate over – his ninth wicket in four games of BPL 2019 – but could not seal victory for the Titans. Nevertheless, his bowling form is outstanding. He took 4-32 against Comilla Victorians and 3-26 against Rajshahi Kings too.

The overseas players have made useful contributions with the bat of late too – David Wiese scoring 40 from 20 against Chittagong Vikings and an unbeaten 35 from 15 balls against Rangpur Riders. Brendan Taylor, meanwhile, has hit 28 from 16 and 32 from 20 in his last two games.

The middle order, with Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mahmudullah in form, appears to be sorted – scoring runs has not been a problem in the last three games.

The issue has been with the ball instead, but Khan and Lasith Malinga – whether one plays or both – have the ability to bowl match-winning spells. The Titans need evidence of that now.

KT Team Form

Khulna Titans lost all four matches in Dhaka but there have been signs of recovery since – including their first and only win at the start of the Sylhet phase of fixtures. Though restricted to 128/9 by the Rajshahi Kings, Taijul Islam’s 3-10 and Junaid Khan’s 3-26 saw the Kings dismissed for 103 in reply.

The batting has improved since, and Junaid Siddique hammered 70 from 41 balls in a total of 181/7 against Comilla Victorians. Junaid took 4-32 in reply, but they lost by three wickets with two balls remaining.

More expensive bowling led to Chittagong Vikings posting 214/4 in the Titans’ next match and they finished short on 188/8 despite Mahmudullah’s half-century. And, last time out, they could not defend 181/6 (after useful contributions from Brendan Taylor (32), Najmul Hossain Shanto (48) and David Wiese (35*) in the middle order). The Rangpur Riders reached the target with three balls to spare to win by six wickets.