Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka: 5 things to look forward to

Sri Lanka would be playing their first World Cup game in Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground against Bangladesh on Thursday. Even though, Sri Lanka seems to be the favourites to win this encounter, an upset victory for Bangladesh is still on cards, especially given the performance of the island nation against Afghanistan.The Sri Lankans are low in confidence, while Bangladeshis are playing this World Cup with nothing to lose. The pressure on the Lankans to succeed and the carefree attitude of the Bangladeshis might very well prove decisive if Sri Lanka's torrid time in this World Cup perpetuates as was the case in their previous two games.Here are the five things to look forward to in the encounter between Bengal tigers and Lankan lions:

#1 New country and new hopes

The Sri Lankan side has had a horrific time in New Zealand, losing both the Tests they played against New Zealand and winning only 3 ODIs out of 8.

Statistically, Sri Lanka has not done well in the Kiwi land ever in their short history. The men in blue have always found the swing and seam the grounds in New Zealand engender, a tough proposition.

The fortunes, however, have been diametrically antagonistical for Sri Lanka the mainland of Australia, just a few miles away from New Zealand.

The fans would be relieved that they no more need to set their alarm to wake themselves up at 3 AM,but their team would be the most relieved for they have been the best touring side in Australia for some time.

Sri Lanka's first ever series win in Australia came in 2010 and since then they have gone onto play the CB series finals once and managed to square a bilateral ODI series there.

The island nation has been missing that spark that could possibly trigger them to emerge victorious in their campaign and one can only hope that the switch in countries would bring back some of Sri Lanka.