Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, one of the most fearsome rivalries in the recent times will be on show in the final match of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas. It seemed like the fixture was waiting for a spark to transform into a full-blown rivalry and the timed-out dismissal in the ODI World Cup last year proved to be just that. Since then, both teams have been taking digs at each other by way of gestures, celebrations and send-offs and hence, this one promises to be a mouth-watering fixture, especially since the islanders are coming off a colossal defeat in their tournament opener against South Africa.

Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas pitch report

Only three T20 internationals have been played at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas have been played so far, all of them in the ongoing T20 World Cup and the venue has produced two of the best games this tournament. There has been an equal battle between bat and ball, with the new-ball bowlers getting the swing, the spinners getting some turn and the batters getting value for their shots. 184 was chased down comfortably in the Major League Cricket final last year and USA made a short work of 197 against Canada in the tournament opener. So, expect more of the same in the venue’s final match in the competition.

Both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are spin heavy, but looking at how the games have panned out, the captain winning the toss would want to field first. Sri Lanka, especially, as they were shot out for 77 by South Africa. However, in the MLC last year, out of 12 matches, teams batting first won eight matches while the team chasing won only four. It has been completely different in the T20 World Cup as all three games have been won by teams chasing (including USA, who won the match in Super Over against Pakistan.)

The average scores here have been 170-180 and you’d think that if a team gets to 180-185, would fancy itself to defend. Should be an interesting contest!