Can Bangladesh batters pull their weight against Netherlands?

Batting will be at the forefront of Bangladesh's agenda after consecutive underwhelming efforts going into their T20 World Cup Group D fixture against the Netherlands at the Arnos Vale Stadium in Kingstown today.

Bangladesh almost made a meal of their 124-run chase against Sri Lanka in their two-wicket win in Dallas and were on the wrong end of the results, falling short by four runs, when they had to chase 113 against South Africa in their second match in New York.

While the bowlers delivered excellent efforts in both matches, the batters, with the exception of in-form Towhid Hridoy, have largely misfired and failed to pull their weight.

Hridoy, Bangladesh's top run-getter with 77, played a match-winning 20-ball 40 against the Lankans and followed it up with a vigilant 34-ball 37. He is the only batter to have an average strike-rate greater than 100 so far for the Tigers and has batted at more than a run-a-ball in both matches.

The top-order continues to be one of the major headaches for the Tigers, more so because it includes skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto, who hasn't been able to snap out of his miserable run, averaging 14.2 in his last 10 innings at a strike-rate of 86.1.

With the pitches in Dallas and New York being significant limiting factors in batting, the move away from the USA could not have come at a better time for Bangladesh batters who will hope that the surfaces in the West Indies will allow them to bat with more freedom.

The Tigers will also take confidence from the fact that they have gone through the most difficult phase in the group with minimal damage as they have a win and a loss against relatively superior sides (Sri Lanka and South Africa) and have Netherlands and Nepal, both of whom are lower down in the rankings, up next.

A win against the Netherlands will put Bangladesh in a favourable position as far as qualification to the Super 8s is concerned as it will allow the Tigers to have progression to the next round in their own hands. With Sri Lanka and Nepal on one point each, Bangladesh, who have two, have the Netherlands as key competition for qualification.