A determined Bangladesh camp are gearing up for their third win of the ongoing Twenty20 World Cup and qualification for the Super Eight stage when they face Nepal in the night game at Arnos Vale Stadium in Saint Vincent Monday (5:30am, BST).
Nepal had a glorious chance to be in contention for Super Eight qualification when they faced South Africa Friday at Arnos Vale Stadium.
They restricted the Proteas for just 115 but failed to hold the nerve and lost by just one run, missing the golden opportunity to pull off the most memorable win of their entire cricket history.
A win for Nepal against South Africa could have given Bangladesh a more complicated scenario as then, it would have been a knockout tie in Bangladesh-Nepal and whoever won would go through to the Super Eight.
But Nepal’s one-run loss to the Proteas made the equation relatively easier for the Tigers as now they will advance if they win.
And even if they lose, they can also progress to the Super Eight depending on the result of the Netherlands-Sri Lanka game.
Provided the Dutch do not win by a big margin, the Tigers can go through in the event of defeat against Nepal.
Bangladesh have happy memories at Arnos Vale Stadium as they registered their first away Test match win here in 2007 and are aiming to record another victory to seal the Super Eight spot.
Bangladesh team had a relaxed day Friday after their crucial win against the Netherlands a day prior.
The Tigers had a practice session in the morning at the Arnos Vale Saturday.
The match against Nepal will start at 7:30pm local time.
The pitches at the Arnos Vale are usually slow and spinners will get good help from the deck.
The Nepal-South Africa night clash here Friday was a low-scoring thriller.
In pursuit of 115, Nepal managed 114 and lost the game in the last ball.
Spinners from both sides dominated the encounter and the wicket for Bangladesh-Nepal will be a similar type which could help the slow bowlers.
Bangladesh have a quality spin attack with Shakib al Hasan and in-form Rishad Hossain, while Nepal also possess good spin options in their rank in Sandeep Lamichhane and Kushal Bhurtel.
Bangladesh will hope their faltering top-order can score some significant runs, particularly skipper Nazmul Hossain Shanto who is under pressure to find form.
Shanto has scored one, 14, seven in the T20 World Cup so far and was not in good touch either against the USA and Zimbabwe in the previous eight T20 Internationals.
If Bangladesh can qualify for the Super Eight phase, then they will play against Australia on June 21 in Antigua, India on June 22 in Antigua and Afghanistan on June 25 in Saint Vincent.