Bangladesh will be looking to seal another convincing victory when they face an emotionally-charged and inexperienced Nepal team today in their second ICC World T20 first round match at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.
After a gruelling year in the early quarter, the Bangladesh side picked their form in the T20 warm-ups and followed it with a dominating nine-wicket win over Afghanistan in the tournament opener a couple of days ago and will be looking to carry the momentum.
Meanwhile, Nepal not only beat Hong Kong by 80 runs but the newbies also became the first Associate nation in five years to win a game in the World T20 that would keep them on their feet.
For the home side, the game should be a walk in the park, but if Nepal - appearing for the first time in an ICC global event - manages to squeeze in an upset, it will be their biggest achievement in sports history.
However, playing against a Test-playing nation for the first time will also work in the nerves of the Nepalese and the big task for them would be to control their emotions. They should be prepared to face a huge home crowd in Chittagong against their small contingent of Chittagong-based Nepalese, mostly made up of university students.
Bangladesh, who played their first match in Dhaka, reached Chittagong yesterday morning and carried out a light training session in the afternoon, while Nepal also had a brief net session simultaneously.
After a small fun game and football session, the Tigers went to the nets and Sabbir Rahman batting along with the opening pair of Anamul Haque and Tamim Iqbal, indicating he might be promoted up the order against the minnows. Anamul has been a bit inconsistent with his scoring at the top and it is the perfect platform for him to get some runs in the bag.
However, the match will be significant for local boy Tamim who has not been at his best after returning from a neck injury. The south paw got starts, but has not been able to convert them into big scores. With the family and home crowd at the stands this is a great opportunity for Tamim to return in runs with the second round in catching distance.
The pitch that will be used in today’s match wears a bit of grasses on top, unlike other Chittagong wickets, and since it is a night game it is likely the seamers will get some assist off the pitch.
However, the Tigers are unlikely to tinker with their winning combination as all-rounder Farhad Reza gives that extra edge to Mushfiqur Rahim in the pace bowling department.
Nepal should take inspiration from their win and most importantly from their spinning duo – Basant Regmi and Shakti Gauchan – who shared six wickets to land their historic win.
Keeping the pitch condition in mind, left-arm seamer Amrit Bhattarai might be picked in the top XI. The 23-year-old with a very swift action bowled a whole hearted spell during the nets and the Bangladesh openers should look out for him if he plays.
Skipper Paras Khadka and Gyanendra Malla remain the two big names in Nepal’s batting unit and it will be a test for them in front of the spirited Bangladeshi spinners.
Despite all the factors, the Tigers are the favourites in the game in all departments and anything short of full points would be a disaster for the World T20 hosts and on the other hand for Nepal the match should be an exam to stage their fighting skills to survive among the big nations.