Bangladesh are undoubtedly superior when it comes to playing in ODIs at their own backyard. The Tigers will take on Sri Lanka in the last game of the group-round on Thursday. The players led by Mashrafe have been impressive throughout the tournament and will look forward to maintaining their unbeaten record before the final as well.

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, had bounced back in the last match against Zimbabwe after losing their first two matches in the competition. They were handed a 12-run defeat in their first game under the new head-coach Chandika Hathurusingha. The island nation were trounced by Bangladesh in the next match as the hosting nation got a bonus-point yielding 163-run victory.

With two injury blows Sri Lanka are in a must-win situation if they want to qualify for the final. Even a defeat by a narrow margin will work for them as their net run rate stands very close to that of Zimbabwe. With Dinesh Chandimal leading the side in absence of Angelo Mathews, the island nation will look forward to being flawless against the clinical hosts.

Chandika Hathurusingha will come up with all of his efforts to see his team in the final against a team he has coached for long enough. The likes of Thisara Perera, Upul Tharanga, Dinesh Chandmal and Nuwan Pradeep will have to make sure that the plans are being executed accordingly in order to have a positive outcome.

Apart from the two in-form top-order batsmen, Bangladesh will need their middle-order to put more effort into their games in order to succeed against Sri Lanka. Anamul, Mahmudullah, and Nasir have failed to make a big impact on the game so far. They will have to bat according to whatever the situation demands on a slower and trickier pitch.

Like the previous matches, the team chasing will have difficulties in keeping the score ticking. So, it will be wise to opt to bat first for whoever wins the toss. A full game is expected to take place as the weather is expected to be fine.

Bangladesh are expected to bring back Saifuddin in the team ahead of their clash against Sri Lanka. In the Lankan side, Dhanushka Gunathilaka is expected to replace an injured Kusal Perera. Dushmanta Chameera might also feature in the team if Nuwan Pradeep misses the game due to a slight niggle.

Bangladesh (probable): Tamim Iqbal, Anamul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim(wk), Mahmudullah, Sabbir Rahman, Mashrafe Mortaza(c), Nasir Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman