Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)-Off-colour Bangladesh will face their third match of the ICC World T20 against Pakistan today in Mirpur of Dhaka on Sunday.
Meanwhile, guest Pakistan are gearing up to take a step forward towards semi-final qualification as they aim to get past Bangladesh in the Group 2 League match of the T20.
The match will be broadcast live by state-run television BTV and private channel Masranga television from Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur at 3:30pm.
Today’s match is a must-win match for Pakistan as a victory against Bangladesh will officially end Australia's theoretical chance of qualifying for the last four as George Bailey's men can win only two matches from here on.
The victory will also make the West Indies versus Pakistan clash on April 1 a virtual quarter-final, which will decide the second team from the group after India, NDTV reports.
Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez said he is pleased arch-rival India have secured a semi-final berth at the ICC World Twenty20 because it gives other teams a clear scenario of what's needed to join them in the next stage.
"India has played very good cricket so far and it's good they are through and the rest of the teams know what it will take to advance,"
Hafeez said on the eve of Pakistan's next Group 2 game against Bangladesh. "The picture is very clear. We have to win every game to enter the semifinals."
For Bangladesh, they are hoping against hope that they are able to pull a coup of sorts by upsetting the Pakistan applecart.
Their premier all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, in fact, made it clear that they are not even hoping for a semi-final berth at the moment.
"After losing the last two games, the morale is obviously down but the beauty of T20 cricket is that you can always come back in the next game. There's no team that can say it will win. It's so short, if you make a mistake, it's hard to come back. Mathematically, may be, we can qualify for semi-final, but it is very hard for us to win two games and qualify," Shakib said.
Teams
Bangladesh: Mushfiqur Rahim (captain/wicketkeeper), Abdur Razzak, Al-Amin Hossain, Anamul Haque, Farhad Reza, Mahmudullah, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mominul Haque, Nasir Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shamsur Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan, Sohag Gazi, Tamim Iqbal and Ziaur Rahman.
Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez (captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Bilawal Bhatti, Junaid Khan, Kamran Akmal (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Talha, Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi, Sharjeel Khan, Shoaib Malik, Sohaib Maqsood, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul and Zulfiqar Babar.
BBN/ANS/AD-1:15 pm (BST)
