Much at stake as action moves to port city

The ongoing T20I tri-series featuring hosts Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe, has now moved to Chattogram's Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, where all three second-leg matches will be played starting with the Bangladesh-Zimbabwe encounter tomorrow.

Bangladesh and Afghanistan reached the port city yesterday in the evening while Zimbabwe, who played their last fixture against Afghanistan in Dhaka on Saturday, had reached on Sunday.

Bangladesh have not had a smooth ride in the tournament so far as the Tigers sit in second position in the points table with one win from two matches. The Tigers suffered a 25-run defeat against Afghanistan in their second match on Sunday after a hard-fought three-wicket victory against Zimbabwe in the tournament opener on Friday.

While a victory against Zimbabwe in the Chattogram leg will be enough for the Tigers to book a place in the final -- which will take place at the Sher-e-Bangla-National Stadium in Dhaka on September 24 -- the main challenge for Bangladesh in Chattogram would be to overcome the mental block against an Afghan side who have been in fine fettle lately.

After humiliating Bangladesh in their one-off Test in Chattogram prior to the tri-series, Afghanistan got the better of both the hosts and Zimbabwe in the ongoing tournament and sit atop the points table and would need just one win from their last two matches to seal a spot in the final.

Zimbabwe, who are yet to win a game, will have to win both their matches against Bangladesh and Afghanistan to have a chance of making it to the final.

For Bangladesh, the Chattogram leg will however be about much more than just sealing a place in the final as the Shakib Al Hasan-led side will be desperate to end Afghanistan's dominance on their tour so far.

CHATTOGRAM-LEG FIXTURE 

September 18: Bangladesh v Zimbabwe 

September 20: Afghanistan v Zimbabwe 

September 21: Bangladesh v Afghanistan