Bangladesh would eye victory against a struggling Scotland to keep their quarterfinal hopes alive in the cricket World Cup when the two teams clash in a Pool A match in Nelson on Thursday.
If Bangladesh defeat Scotland, who have lost all three matches so far, then the Asian minnows would be a win away from the quarterfinals.
Bangladesh need to win two of their last three matches and their next opponents are England, who are languishing at number six having lost three matches out of four.
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While Bangladesh has everything to play for, Scotland is looking to get their first win of the tournament.
Their pace battery, led by Iain Wardlaw, is their biggest asset. They lost a thriller against Afghanistan and tomorrow is probably their best chance to register a win as they next play former champions Sri Lanka and Australia.
Scotland know what Bangladesh are dreaming of but they have vowed to make life tough for the Asian side.
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“They are expected to win this game. They want to get two points out of this game. But at the same time it’s brilliant opportunity for Scotland as an associate team to play against a full member and have the opportunity to beat a full member. We are right up for this game,” Scotland captain Preston Mommsen said.
Mommsen’s is expecting that Bangladesh will rely on their spin attack but said they have take inspiration from Ireland’s upset win over the West Indies at this very ground.
“Ireland attacked the West Indies bowlers on this ground and we will try and represent the Associates tomorrow as best as we can,” he said.
Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza said Thursday’s match is a chance for them to regain some confidence, which was bashed by the 92-run defeat against Sri Lanka.
“We expect to win. When we lost (to Sri Lanka), we also lost some confidence. So this is an opportunity to win this match and go with some confidence into the game against England,” Mortaza said.
Teams:
Bangladesh: Mashrafe Mortaza (C), Al-Amin Hossain, Anamul Haque, Arafat Sunny, Mahmudullah, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Nasir Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Taijul Islam, Tamim Iqbal, Taskin Ahmed.
Scotland: Preston Mommsen (C), Kyle Coetzer, Richie Berrington, Freddie Coleman, Matthew Cross, Josh Davey, Alasdair Evans, Hamish Gardiner, Majid Haq, Michael Leask, Matt Machan, Calum MacLeod, Safyaan Sharif, Rob Taylor, Iain Wardlaw.