Bangladesh play Pakistan in a crucial Group D World Twenty20 match on Tuesday knowing that victory will not be enough to secure a place in the Super Eights.
The equation for Bangladesh is clear, if they bat first, the Tigers need to win by 36 runs or more to narrow the gap in the net run rate and knock Pakistan out of the competition. If Pakistan bat first, then Bangladesh will have to reach the target in something under 20 overs - to be determined by what total Pakistan manage.
The situation arose after New Zealand beat Bangladesh by the healthy margin of 59 runs, while the Kiwis managed to keep the margin of defeat against Pakistan down to 13 runs.
Speaking after a practice session in Kandy on Monday, Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim said they would go into the game with nothing to lose.
"Reaching the Super Eights is one of our goals, but there is still a long way to go. It is not an impossible task. Pakistan are a good side but are not unbeatable. If the boys can put their hands up and show what they're capable of, anything is possible."
He said Bangladesh were set to make at least one change to the team that played the first match.
"We probably made a mistake in reading the conditions," Mushfiqur said of the decision to include Abdur Razzaq, Shakib-Al-Hasan and Elias Sunny.
"We thought there would be a lot more turn. We have enough options in the squad, with seam bowling all-rounders and fast-medium bowlers on the bench. Given that this game is under lights, and that we know the pitch a bit better, we will look at bringing in an extra fast-medium option."
He did not believe Tuesday's game was a chance to take revenge for their nail-biting Asia Cup final defeat.
"It is not revenge. It is more of an opportunity for us to do well against a top side both as individuals and a team, in a big tournament. We are looking forward to do that."
Bangladesh have not beaten Pakistan in any format since 1999, but Mushfiqur did not want to read too much into the statistic.
"There's pressure in every game. They'd think in the same way. They would not want to lose to Bangladesh. What we need to do is to play well in all departments. In the last game we didn't even do 60 percent of what we are capable of. Tomorrow is another opportunity to beat them."
However the Bangladesh captain thought having Saqlain Mustaq as a bowling coach was beneficial.
"Of course he has been a great addition to the coaching team. He is telling us how to read (Saeed) Ajmal, (Shahid) Afridi, (Umar) Gul and (Mohammad) Hafeez. But the application will depend on us. If we can do that, it'll be an interesting game tomorrow."
Mushfiqur admitted that Ajmal was on his mind.
"He's a big factor," he said.
"He will start bowling in the Powerplay when we have to take some risks. We can't play all their bowlers normally, but attack some. We have players for that, and we are planning in that way. If we can execute these plans, hopefully we'll do well."
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