Beleagured sides out to end rotten run

Now here's a contest that might have looked quite different before the start of the World Cup. Pakistan may have expected to strongly be in the running for a top-four slot in the second-half of their campaign and Bangladesh would have represented that tricky opposition, playing not too far away from home and backed up by some of the most varied spin bowlers in the game.

But there's something about this fixture that doesn't quite feel the same now. Bangladesh's rise through the ODI ranks - from making the quarters of the 2015 World Cup to going one better in the 2017 Champions Trophy - has been a joy to behold. Despite the odd periods of stasis, the win over India last year and their general dominance at home is proof that this generation of Bangladesh battlers can never be written off. But in five of the six games this World Cup, they simply haven't been at the races, their usual exuberance drained from one loss to the next. Case in point, their dispiriting display against Netherlands at this very venue on Saturday. Faced with a team displaying the zest of the Bangladesh teams of yore, Shakib Al Hasan's side gave the impression that trying to see out 50 overs was the most important part of their day's work.

And therefore, starting afresh would seem like the best way ahead. The captain, their most iconic player, will step down after this tournament is already considering retirement in a couple of years. Wholesale changes are expected in the coaching staff and potentially to the squad too. The BCB president, though,