Bangladesh are primed to win this ODI series against West Indies with a game to spare and although Roston Chase laughed off the possibility at the pre-match press conference, it is undeniable that his team has had a torrid time all tour. It is no stretch to imagine that they might suffer another batting meltdown on Tuesday.
Bangladesh have done excellently in all three departments over the past few weeks. In the first ODI, Mashrafe Mortaza and Mustafizur Rahman shared six wickets between them to keep West Indies to a below par 195. And while Rubel Hossain bowled two poor overs towards the end, it didn't take the gloss out of a strong performance. Tamim Iqbal's outstanding catch to remove Darren Bravo also ensured that, ultimately, not a lot needed to be discussed about the three dropped catches.
Bangladesh's recovery from 42 for 2 was also encouraging. Mushfiqur Rahim let Liton Das and later Shakib Al Hasan play shots while he provided the anchor role. Soumya Sarkar also struck the ball well during his short stay, before Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah brought them victory quickly.
However, runs - quick or slow - haven't been forthcoming for West Indies. There were some encouraging signs in the practice one-dayer when they got a 300-plus total but they couldn't deal with the lack of pace on the ball as Shakib and Mehidy Hasan bowled during the Powerplay, and then according to Chase, also had trouble against the pacers as the innings progressed.
With an attack that boasts two genuine fast bowlers and a bit of variety, West Indies must get a 240-plus total in Dhaka to seriously challenge the home side. Oshane Thomas and Kemar Roach can be a handful in any conditions but they need to be backed by runs.
Form guide
Bangladesh: WWWWL (Last five completed matches, most recent first)
West Indies: LLLWT
In the spotlight
Mashrafe Mortaza became Player of the Match after two years, with his three-wicket haul boosting Bangladesh's bowling in the first ODI. His combination of cutters and subtle seam movement continues to work for him in the last five years of his limited-overs career.
Shimron Hetmyer had a blip in the first game but he has so far had a better Bangladesh tour than all of West Indies' batsmen. They would expect him to produce another quickfire knock in the crucial encounter.
Team news
Mashrafe is nursing a hamstring injury and Bangladesh's team management will be concerned by that, even as they experiment with four opening batsman, using Soumya Sarkar at No. 6.
Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Liton Das, 3 Imrul Kayes, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Soumya Sarkar, 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Mehidy Hasan, 9 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 10 Rubel Hossain, 11 Mustafizur Rahman
West Indies have batsmen Chandrapaul Hemraj and Sunil Ambris, allrounder Carlos Brathwaite and left-arm spinner Fabien Allen to choose from, if they are looking to shake up things for the second game.
West Indies (probable): 1 Kieran Powell, 2 Shai Hope (wk), 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Roston Chase, 7 Rovman Powell (capt), 8 Keemo Paul, 9 Devendra Bishoo, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Oshane Thomas
Pitch and conditions
West Indies' struggle on Sunday was not indicative that the pitch at Shere Bangla National Stadium is bowler-friendly. Bangladesh certainly showed that batting with a bit more purpose can pay off. Dew is unlikely to be an issue, neither is the weather.
Stats and trivia
Bangladesh won the first ODI with 14.5 overs to spare, their second-biggest margin of victory over West Indies in terms of balls remaining. The largest is 180, from when they chased down a target of 62 in Chittagong in 2011.
Mushfiqur Rahim has moved past Chris Gayle as the highest run-getter in Bangladesh-West Indies ODIs. He has now scored 670 runs in 20 matches, averaging 41.87.
Quotes
"I think we go back to the drawing board, we look at our plans and we will look at where we fell down in the [first] match and improve on that. I will never say that the series is over. We are going to come back strong. We know the guys will be up for the challenge, so we are looking forward to the next game." West Indies allrounder Roston Chase on whether Bangladesh are primed for a series win.
