Naagin derby resumes in USA as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka face off in T20 World Cup

The Naagin derby makes its return as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka clash, but this time, it will be in the USA for the first time.

The Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Saturday at 6.30 AM Bangladesh time will be the venue where one of the spiciest rivalries in cricket take place with both teams going through a rough time in the T20 format.

Bangladesh shockingly lost a T20I series to associate nation USA and then surrendered meekly against India in the practice game.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka's lost in their opening game against South Africa where they were bowled out for 77 and failed to cope with the slower nature of the pitch.  

But Bangladesh need to rewrite its history. Bangladesh's journey in T20 World Cups started with a bang in 2007 when they grabbed a convincing win over the West Indies in their opening match of the tournament in South Africa.

However, that win against West Indies remains Bangladesh's only victory over a higher-ranked team in the tournament so far. 

In the last T20 World Cup in Australia, they notched up three victories, the highest ever in a single tournament but all of those victories came against the lower-ranked sides.

Bangladesh played 16 T20 Internationals against Sri Lanka and won five while losing 11. Amongst the higher-ranked teams, Bangladesh secured the most number of victories against Sri Lanka. That should be another source of confidence for them.

"We are not thinking about what has happened before. We know how capable we are, we have to be brave and execute our plans," Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said in the pre-match press conference.

Bangladesh are drawn in Group D which involves South Africa, Nepal and the Netherlands apart from Sri Lanka. Bangladesh need to beat at least one higher-ranked team between Sri Lanka and South Africa if they want to keep their hopes alive of a Super 8 stage spot.

While Shanto urged to be bold in the approach, veteran batter Mahmudullah Riyad believes a good start to the tournament will be a boost for the team.

"Everything relies on how we start the tournament. We need to have a good start. I believe if we make a good start, we'll go a long way," he said.

Bangladesh will also be bolstered by the return of fast bowler Taskin Ahmed who missed the series against USA and practice matches due to a side strain. 

But at the same time, they lost their left-arm pacer Shoriful Islam who sustained an injury in his bowling hand during the practice game against India.