Knockouts in mind as West Indies, Bangladesh face off

West Indies and Bangladesh will have their eyes firmly trained on quarterfinal berths, when the two sides meet in a must-win Group B match here on Friday.

The group, which also features India, England and South Africa, has been thrown wide open after Ireland rode on Kevin O’Brien’s fastest World Cup century to stun their more fancied neighbours and the three-time finalists, England.

Despite managing just two points from as many games, both the teams seemed relaxed ahead of the big clash at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium here. Bangladesh are banking on familiar conditions and the stadium, which is expected to be packed with the supporters for the home side. But, the Caribbean outfit cannot be taken lightly after their massive win over the Netherlands in the last match.

Bangladesh, also the co-hosts of the tournament, started on a sour note, losing to India by 87 runs, but brought their campaign back on track with a 27-run win over Ireland. Mindful of the expectations of the home crowd, frontline spinner Abdur Razzak, however, tried to play down the hype, saying that his team is only focused on the match and not thinking about victory or defeat.

“We have practiced very well, the boys are confident of doing well against West Indies,” Razzak said. “We are giving equal importance to all matches, no matter whether we face Netherlands or England,” he added.

The wicket here did not prove to be conducive for spinners in the home side’s first two games, but Razzak is confident the strip for the game would assist the slow bowlers.

“It did not happen in the first two matches, but I think this one will help us,” the left-arm spinner said. “It will give us a good chance to defeat the West Indies.”

Razzak gave enough indications that the home side’s attack would be spin-oriented, something they are banking on to overcome the West Indies. He said Bangladesh would try to make “the best use of Powerplays and keep wickets intact” to put pressure on the two-time champions. Statistics give Bangladesh the edge as they beat the West Indies 3-0 when the two sides last met in 2009. But that hardly holds any significance as West Indies fielded a second-string team following a financial spat between leading players and their cricket board.

The challenge for the visitors, who lost to South Africa in their opener before beating the Netherlands, could lie in tackling the spinners in unfamiliar territory, but team manager Richie Richardson said the side is up for it.

“Every match is a challenge and every one is going to be difficult. Playing against Bangladesh in Bangladesh will be tough,” said the former West Indies captain under whom they qualified for the semifinals of the 1996 World Cup.

“But we have the ability, (and are) certainly very confident that we can beat Bangladesh,” Richardson said. The 215-run victory over the Dutch is the reason for their new-found belief and confidence in the team.

“I think we are in a pretty good shape. The last win was a confidence booster. We are ready to tackle any opposition, any spin attack, any pace attack, any team. We are prepared to take them on,” he said.

The West Indies are below Bangladesh in the ICC rankings, but Richardson seemed unfazed. “It’s a competition where it is possible for anybody who plays well consistently to win, so it doesn’t matter,” he said.

“It’s how well you play in the tournament that will make the difference. It’s always difficult playing against a home team. Obviously, they know the conditions really well, and they have the home support. But we have beaten people all over the world, so we are not worried about that.”