After their drubbing to India, Bangladesh must beat New Zealand in Rawalpindi today to keep their hopes alive of making it to the semi-finals from Group A of the ICC Champions Trophy.
The match is scheduled to start at 3:00pm Bangladesh Standard Time and T Sports, Nagorik TV, and Toffee will telecast it live.
The Najmul Hossain Shanto-led team lost to India by six wickets in their opening match in Dubai, whereas New Zealand started the proceedings by beating hosts Pakistan.
Bangladesh must improve their batting, particularly in the top order, if they are to beat the Kiwis.
Towhid Hridoy and Jaker Ali put up a fight against India when they added a record 154-run partnership for the sixth wicket but the continuous failure of the top order are hurting the Tigers.
The wickets in Pakistan have already shown that big scores are needed in the tournament. England even failed to defend 351鈥攖he then-highest score of the Champions Trophy鈥攁gainst Australia.
Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium is also a historically high-scoring ground. Since the last Champions Trophy, the average runs per six balls is 6.13.
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner said that the role of the bowlers would be vital.
鈥業t might be a high-scoring ground; it might not,鈥� said Santner in the pre-match press conference on Sunday.
鈥業t generally is pretty good, but I guess it鈥檚 the bowling unit鈥檚 job to try and restrict the best we can.
鈥業t might not be a 200 wicket, it might be a 300, it might be a good score to try and chase, or whatever we want to do. So, I think what we鈥檙e quite good at is adapting and being planned, and I think that鈥檚 what we鈥檝e got to do tomorrow,鈥� added Santner.
The records against the Kiwis for Bangladesh are a matter of concern too. After their memorable win in the last Champions Trophy in 2017, Bangladesh lost 12 matches out of 14 against them.
The only win, though, came the last time two teams met in Napier, when Bangladesh bowled New Zealand out for just 98 runs.
But this New Zealand side are on a roll as they won their last four matches starting from the Tri-series they won in Pakistan.
Bangladesh, on the other hand, are heading into this match with five consecutive defeats in their bag.
Bangladesh opted not to play the pace sensation Nahid Rana in their first match against India. Experienced campaigner Mahmudullah also didn鈥檛 make the cut due to injury.
The bowlers fought well with an under-par score against India, but their jobs will only get tougher on the flat pitch in Rawalpindi.
However, Santer said that they would be ready to face any kind of challenges Bangladesh may pose.
He said, 鈥榃e know Bangladesh are a very good side; we鈥檝e played them a lot in the past, and I guess here in Pindi it鈥檚 usually a pretty good wicket, so we know they can be quite destructive. So we鈥檝e got to be鈥擨 think we鈥檒l obviously focus on them and also focus on ourselves, things we want to get out of the game, and things we鈥檙e doing well that worked in Karachi.
鈥業 think we鈥檒l have to adapt here with a different surface in Rawalpindi, traditionally maybe a little bit more bounce, but that鈥檚 usually pretty good to bat. So we鈥檒l have to wait and see,鈥� added Santner.