Bangladesh players reached Nelson, New Zealand yesterday evening ahead of their fourth Pool A game against Scotland this Thursday at Saxton Oval. The Tigers, playing the Scots on the back of a 92-run defeat against the Lankans, will look to give a much better account of themselves in a new country and new surroundings.
Bangladesh have been unchanged in their first three games against Afghanistan, Australia and Sri Lanka. However, in the must-win game against the Scots, the Tigers might play one of the two specialist spinners, Taijul Islam and Arafat Sunny – in place of either Mominul Haque or one of the two pacemen – Rubel Hossain and Taskin Ahmed. Taijul and Sunny have been quite active in the net sessions in the last few days.
In order to ensure a smooth passage to the quarterfinals, Bangladesh must beat Scotland. The Tigers will be confident of a positive result against the Europeans, given the head-to-head record between the two teams. So far, the Tigers have faced the Scots thrice with the last encounter taking place in December 2006. Bangladesh have won all three matches, including their clash in the 1999 ICC World Cup.
The Bangladesh cricketers will enjoy a rest day today and will start training from tomorrow.