When Bangladesh and Netherlands meet for their third group match of the T20 World Cup, the winners will walk away with a greater likelihood of qualifying for the Super Eight stage of the tournament.

Group D action now moves to the Caribbean, with the match on Thursday being held at the Arnos Vale Stadium in Kingstown, Saint Vincent.

Both teams have two points each from their two games and are sandwiched between leaders South Africa – who have qualified for the Super Eights – and bottom two sides Nepal and Sri Lanka, both of whom are unlikely to go through.

It leaves these two sides to battle it out for the second qualifying spot, and Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto believes the side that tackles the conditions better will come out on top.

“It is very difficult to say how many runs will be scored on this wicket, so it is very important to read the wicket quickly,” Shanto told reporters on Wednesday.

He expects Bangladeshi fans to continue supporting them in the West Indies, as they have done in the US leg of their matches.

“Wherever we play, [our] supporters will come, especially in the West Indies. It feels good.”

Bangladesh fans will hope their team’s qualification for Super Eights does not come down to prayers. One fan asked the men in green to do their bit while the fans do theirs, with a placard reading: “You play, we pray” during their match against South Africa.

‘We play do-or-die matches all year’

The Netherlands are also aware of the importance of the clash and their bowler Logan van Beek said the team have had “very nice” preparations ahead of it.

“This is the biggest match that we are probably going to play for this tournament,” van Beek said.

He said he expects the wicket to be flat, with no dents but the ground still has plenty of “unknowns” for both sides.

The men in orange are confident of bagging an important win over their group rivals.

“The confidence that we’ve got over the last few years of beating big teams at big competitions and in do-or-die matches, we’ve stood up at right times and that’s how the Dutch play. We kind of find ourselves in these do-or-die matches all year round and so we’re used to that pressure and excited to do it again.”

Pitch and weather conditions

The Arnos Vale Stadium has plenty of unknowns surrounding it as it has not hosted an international cricket match in 10 years. In the past, the pitch has produced an even contest between bat and ball, with spinners finding plenty of success.

While there is no rain forecast, weather conditions will be typically hot and humid.

Head-to-head

The two sides have met four times in the T20 format. Bangladesh have won three of those matches, including the most recent one at the T20 World Cup 2022.

The only T20 win for the Netherlands against Bangladesh came in 2012.

Form guide

Both sides have won one each and lost one game – against South Africa – in the tournament so far.

Bangladesh have relied on their power-hitting batters and calm lower-order veteran Mahmudullah to see them through with the bat. Rishad Hossain has also played an invaluable role with the ball.

The Netherlands have been tidy with the ball and excellent on the field. All they need is for their batting to step up a gear.

Bangladesh: L W W L L
Netherlands: L W L L L

Bangladesh team news

Shak Mahedi Hasan could be in line for his first T20 World Cup game, as his tidy off-break bowling and batting abilities could come in handy in the Caribbean.

Squad: Najmul Hossain Shanto (captain), Taskin Ahmed, Litton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Shakib Al Hasan, Tawhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah Riyad, Jaker Ali Anik, Tanvir Islam, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib.

Netherlands team news

They are unlikely to change their playing XI.

Squad: Scott Edwards (captain), Aryan Dutt, Bas de Leede, Daniel Doram, Fred Klaassen, Logan van Beek, Max O’Dowd, Michael Levitt, Paul van Meekeren, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Teja Nidamanuru, ⁠⁠Tim Pringle, Vikram Singh, Viv Kingma, Wesley Barresi.