ICC World Twenty20 Bangladesh v Ireland Tigers aren't afraid

Bangladesh's 25-run loss against India on Saturday has now put them in must-win situation against Ireland today if they want to qualify for the next round and the Tigers are determined to ensure that a shock doesn't occur like the Super Eights encounter against the same team at Barbados in the 2007 World Cup.

Today's match is scheduled to start at 1:30pm local time (6:30pm Bangladesh Standard Time) with state-run Bangladesh Television (BTV) and STAR Cricket beaming the live coverage of the Group A encounter.

"It was a match we were too anxious to win I guess because we thought that if we didn't then all our good work in that tournament will be ruined. We brought pressure on ourselves with the fear of losing to a team below us. But that's not the case here. The players are very confident and I have not seen the fear-factor in this side on this trip. They have good players, people with county cricket experience but we are up for anything," said captain Mohammad Ashraful who also believed that Bangladesh had a genuine chance of beating India on Saturday.

"There were little mistakes we made that turned the game in India's favour. We always thought that 181 was gettable on that track but we lost too many wickets inside the first 10 overs. We don't have power hitters in the middle and later order like India and therefore the start was important. We did get the start but when I got out and Shakib [Al Hasan] and Zunaed [Siddiqui] followed it was a difficult chase from there on," said Ashraful who nevertheless was pleased with the bowling and fielding effort.

"We were good in the field and the bowling apart from an over each from Nayeem [Islam] and Rubel [Hossain] was fine.”

All-rounder Shakib also echoed the sentiments of his captain.

"We just needed one of the top four batters to carry on after we got the platform. I thought the turning points in the game was the stumping chance missed when Yuvraj Singh was on naught and then in batting when I got out and Zunaed also fell in the same over," said Shakib.

"I have no doubt that if we play our natural game then we should not have any problems beating Ireland," added Shakib.

Coach Jamie Siddons rued the missed opportunity against India.

"When Ashraful and Zunaed were batting we only needed 8 an over. But we still went for sixes and got out. We could have pushed them even harder," said Siddons.

Bangladesh have an injury worry over left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak who did not make the team against India. Razzak, who had suffered a back strain during a gym session on Saturday was feeling much better according to Tigers physio Michael Henry.

The weather has not got only gloomier in Nottingham and it had rained continuously since last evening. The forecast is for a clearer sky today but locals here are keeping their fingers crossed. The Bangladesh team could not train outdoors at Lady Bay because of the wet conditions and instead opted for practice at the National Cricket Academy's indoor facilities at Loughborough which is the largest such centre in the world.