For one team it is respectability, for another it is safety at stake

*Image: Courtesy Star Sports

We have come to a stage of the tournament, where result of every match will be keenly followed in view of its impact on the pool standings. So, the match between Bangladesh and Scotland is also one such match which not only the Bangla fans will be following but also the English fans. Yes, you read it right. English fans will be following it. They will not only be following it but cheering their neighbours during the match. A loss for Bangladesh in this match would mean that England has a better chance to go to the knockouts.

In Pool A, it is assumed that New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Australia will go through to the quarter finals. The contest for the fourth slot is between England and Bangladesh and in theory even Afghanistan is also in the race. For now, let us assume that Afghanistan is not in the race, because that is a remote possibility. Bangladesh is left with three matches and England is left with two more games. For Bangladesh, now at 3 points, to get to the quarter finals, it has to win at least two of the remaining games and England, now at 2 points, has no choice but to win both of its remaining games, one of which is against Bangladesh. If we assume that England wins the game between the two, then Bangladesh will have to win the remaining two to get past England. Hence, their Thursday's match against Scotland is a must win for them. A win would still keep them at fourth position only.

If Bangladesh wins their match against Scotland, they will be tied in points with Australia but Australia has a very good NRR. In case they want to overtake Australia, then their win has to be big. Scotland is coming back after that energy sapping encounter against Afghanistan, where they lost the match with a very narrow margin. They would have been deeply hurt by the fact that they were very close to winning and yet the win eluded them. They are desperate for their maiden win in the world cup and considering that their last two matches are against Sri Lanka and Australia, they would fancy their chance against Bangladesh on Thursday. So, they would come with all that they have to secure a victory.

Though Bangladesh outwitted Afghanistan in their opening encounter, their batting did struggle against the Afghanistan bowling. Had it not been Mushfiqur and Shakib in batting, they would have failed to put a decent score. Against Sri Lanka, batsmen did score but their strike rate was not impressive. Bangladesh has to bowl and bat with purpose if they have to make a match out of it and they can certainly not take Scotland for granted. Fortunately, because of their abandoned match against Australia, they have that one point advantage. Hence they need not really worry about the NRR unless they are competing for the third place in the pool. So all that they have to do is win. If they lose tomorrow's encounter, they will still theoretically be in race, but practically it would be a difficult task to achieve.

On the other hand Scotland has nothing to lose apart from the possibility of a win-less world cup. They would be determined not to leave this world cup without a win. Considering the three opponents that they have to face in the tournament, their best chance is against Bangladesh. How important this match is to them can be assessed by the fact that they have hired Shane Jurgensen as a consultant only for this match and incidentally he is the ex-coach of Bangladesh. This might be a coincidence but the fact is that they are treating this match as very important and they want to win it by all means.

Bangladesh will be playing their first match in New Zealand, whereas Scotland has been playing all its games in New Zealand. So Scotland will be better prepared in terms of the conditions. The pitch for the match in Nelson is full of runs. The last two matches in Nelson gives an indication that whatever be the score, it can be chased. Ireland chased 305 and Zimbabwe chased 286. 

Whichever team is batting first has to score big, because there is a chance that even the big score might not be enough. For both the teams, batting is a concern and they have to address that. Openers have not clicked for both the teams. Unless the openers lay a solid foundation, it would be difficult for the team to set a decent target or chase it. When it come to bowling, Scotland has a decent seam attack and if Bangladesh does not pull themselves up, they could pose trouble. Josh Davey has taken 9 wickets so far and is Scotland's highest wicket-taker in this World Cup. If Scotland relies on their seam attack, spin is Bangladesh's strength. There is a possibility that Scotland may face some difficulty against spin and thus Bangladesh might bring an extra spinner. For any limited overs match, fielding is an important factor. Both the teams have been shabby to say the least. Finally, it could be the fielding that could be the actual difference in a win or loss.

The match has to be a keenly contested one as for both of them something is at stake. For Scotland it is respectability, for Bangladesh it is safety.