Will Shakib Al Hasan be more motivated to challenge Tamim Iqbal in the race to be the best performer of the match? If that happens Sri Lanka's task of turning the tables on the rampaging Tigers in the hopes of making the final will become harder in the last league match of the tri-series at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur today.

The two stalwarts have so far been outstanding in their performances and seemed to be engaged in an interesting battle for the player-of-the-match award, with Shakib winning the prize in the first two matches and Tamim claiming it in the most recent one on Tuesday. Another clinical show from them will not be good news for Chandika Hathurusingha's charges, who were simply outclassed in the first match against Bangladesh, who romped to a 163-run win, their biggest in ODIs.

Stand-in Lankan skipper Dinesh Chandimal however had high praise for the experienced campaigners in the Bangladesh side. “This team [Bangladesh] is outstanding. They've got some very good players, for example Tamim, Shakib, Mushfiqur [Rahim] and Mahmudullah [Riyad]. They are doing their roles – that's the main thing as senior players. They have played now almost eight to 10 years in international cricket and I think that's the advantage. They're playing some outstanding cricket now.”

He might have forgotten to mention Mashrafe Bin Mortaza but the Bangladesh ODI skipper has added more spice to his charisma not only as a captain but as the leading paceman of the team in the tournament where the hosts' bowling appeared to have found its feet.

Chandimal rightly said that Bangladesh are really good on their home soil but added that 'we can all make mistakes. Cricket is like that.'

Here lies the challenge for Mashrafe and Co -- to prove Chandimal wrong in order to go to Saturday's final with all the momentum on their side. The eight-wicket, 163-run and 91-run wins have provided ample evidence of their supremacy in the tri-series but if they are to stay on track of their stated goal to become a big team in world cricket, they cannot rest on their laurels, but show their ruthlessness like a true professional and champion side.

Fans and media can hype the individual battles like the Shakib-Tamim friendly rivalry but the team management has the more important task of fine-tuning the team ahead of the final to keep the high level of confidence intact. Refreshingly, players were well aware of that fact as Tamim pointed out the shortcomings of the team even after the 91-run victory over Zimbabwe, and captain Mashrafe had also said time and again that there is still room for improvement.

Khaled Mahmud, who is looking after the team as a technical director, also echoed the same sentiment while talking about today's match against Sri Lanka.

“I am still not satisfied. We need more quality if we want to become a big team. We are aware of that and we also discussed about the matter. Our middle order had a chance in the last game but did not click, so it's an area we must focus on. We will only become a big team if we can bounce back from any difficult situation,” said Mahmud.

So it will not just be Sri Lanka who will take the field today with purpose.