With eye on final, Tigers take on Pakistan today

When Bangladesh and Pakistan lock horns in their Asia Cup T20 tie at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur today, both will be looking to take a step further towards the March 6 final. A win for Bangladesh will cement their spot in the final, while a loss for Pakistan will mean elimination.

Bangladesh have won against Sri Lanka and the UAE but lost to India, who raced into the final with a 5-wicket win over Sri Lanka last night. Meanwhile Pakistan have beaten the UAE and lost to India. The Tigers will be weakened in the bowling department by the absence of an injured Mustafizur Rahman, but their batting will be bolstered with the return of Tamim Iqbal.

The two teams will also be looking to heal recent wounds that they have inflicted on each other. Some of Bangladesh's most heart-wrenching moments in the Asia Cup have come against Pakistan. It was against Pakistan that the Tigers lost the Asia Cup final in 2012 by just two runs, a result that left the players in tears and the nation distraught at having missed their first major silverware so narrowly.

In the next edition in 2014 a score of 326 raised hopes of a victory against Pakistan for the first time since the famous 1999 World Cup upset, but after the match seemed to be in Bangladesh's pocket, Shahid Afridi put paid to those hopes in a whirlwind of sixes to strengthen their Asia Cup record against Bangladesh to a perfect 12-0.

This does not mean Pakistan are sitting especially pretty ahead of today's crucial encounter. While Bangladesh's wounds go back to the last edition, painful memories for Pakistan -- who were subjected to a 3-0 ODI series loss and a 1-0 T20I loss at the hands of Bangladesh last year -- are more recent.

A 12-0 Asia Cup record should not bother a Bangladesh team who have made it a habit of correcting past wrongs as they did by winning their first T20I against Sri Lanka on Sunday. What will be a bigger issue however is the absence of  Mustafizur, who has been ruled out of the ongoing tournament with a side strain. It will disrupt a pace strategy that has been the cornerstone of Bangladesh's rousing successes in 2015. The young left-armer's place will likely be taken by Nasir Hossain or left-arm spinner Arafat Sunny. Left-arm pacer Abu Hider is also a possibility.

"Depends on the condition of the pitch and the opposition," said Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha during a pre-match press briefing in Mirpur yesterday when asked who is more likely to play.

Both sides enter this contest with misfiring batting line-ups. The opening combination for Bangladesh has been a concern, and they had to rely on a single-handed display by Sabbir Rahman -- 80 out of a team total of 147 -- to beat Sri Lanka. Pakistan were dismissed for just 83 by India and were in trouble at 17 for three against the UAE.

The good news for Bangladesh is that the opening problem will likely be solved by Tamim's return. In the three matches, Mohammad Mithun and Soumya Sarkar have gotten out cheaply on two occasions. Tamim, who had displayed fine form in the recently-concluded Pakistan Super League, is likely to take Mithun's spot at the top.

According to Pakistan coach Waqar Younis, they will enter the match as favourites despite their series losses last year. A reason for that confidence may be their pace attack -- spearheaded by the hugely talented Mohammad Amir -- that has been very threatening on pitches featuring more grass than traditionally seen in Mirpur.

Even without Mustafizur, a bowling line-up including Taskin Ahmed, Al-Amin Hossain, Mashrafe and Shakib Al Hasan is a strong one for Bangladesh. With two strong attacks likely to cancel each other out, what may well decide the contest today is which batting side handles the conditions and the pressures better.

SCORES IN BRIEF

SRI LANKA: 138 for 9 in 20 overs (Kapugedera 30, Siriwardana 22; Pandya 2-26)
INDIA: 142 for 5 in 19.2 overs (Raina 25, Kohli 56 not out, Yuvraj 35; Kulasekara 2-21)
Result: India won by 5 wickets.