It's a huge ground this; the MCG. Three times the capacity of the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium at Mirpur; one could probably play two matches side-by-side here. Even if half the stands here are occupied with Bangladeshi supporters, the Melbourne Cricket Ground can become a haven for the Tigers; for nowhere have they ever witnessed more than 35,000 spectators cheering for them.

These thoughts must have been running through skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza's mind when he was gazing at the iconic playground from the highest stands yesterday. It wouldn't have been a surprise had he gotten a little jittery because of the altitude.

There were however no jitters at the pre-match press conference. Generally good in front of the microphone Mashrafe seemed to be at his aggressive best.

"We never played here before. But that doesn't put us on the backfoot. We know what we have to do and we are prepared. We are aiming for a win and our main focus will be to execute the plan well. I am hopeful of doing that," the confident 31-year-old said.

The head-to-head stats don't reflect Mashrafe's enthusiasm though. Bangladesh have only won four out of the 37 encounters against the Lankans. Some of Bangladesh's biggest defeats have also come against the island nation. The skipper though wasn't worried about all that.

"Whether we can do the right things on the day is more important than thinking on what happened in the past."

There have been a few areas Sri Lanka have been struggling with. Their jittery top order and Lasith Malinga's lack of form are two crucial factors that have been highlighted in the mega event thus far.

The captain however reckoned that at this stage of the competition there is every chance for the players to get settled and start hitting form. "It does not take much time to see someone get their form back," he remarked.

Ever since 2014, the MCG has witnessed five matches, with nine of those team totals being above 250; two 300-plus totals were scored in the World Cup by India and hosts Australia. As a result, a total around 300 seems to be a benchmark for this match and it's something that Mashrafe, despite Bangladesh's brittle batting, is confident of reaching. One of the crucial aspects of the ground, as Mashrafe put it, would be to pierce the field and run hard.

Also on the day, Mashrafe visited his Melbourne-based orthopaedic surgeon Dr David Young, who has performed multiple surgeries on the player's knees. It was a must for the player to meet the doctor who he practically owes his career to.

Young has been witness to a number of Mashrafe's comebacks; the question that remains though is whether he will be witnessing one today as well.

5 facts

• Bangladesh have never beaten Sri Lanka in a World Cup. They however have beaten them four times in 37 encounters.
• Bangladesh have never won a match against Sri Lanka batting first. All four wins have come while chasing.
• Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan have scored a total of eight ODI centuries against Bangladesh. None of the others in the Sri Lankan line-up have reached the three figure-mark against the Tigers.
• Shakib Al Hasan's bowling average against Sri Lanka is 48.8, his worst against all teams.
• Tamim Iqbal amongst the current line-up, has scored 420 runs against Sri Lanka and is the highest run-getter.