The scramble starts in earnest.

It's not yet a knockout contest, but the loser of this one will require a standing count. After a week of ever-escalating entertainment in Group B, the tournament is just about to get deadly serious for two opponents who will have watched the past few days' events in Bangalore with a host of contrasting emotions. Bangladesh and West Indies know a place in the quarter-finals is there for the taking, especially in light of England's struggles to impose themselves on the tournament. But with Ireland on the march after their epic triumph on Wednesday night, there's suddenly a sixth competitor waiting to pounce on the next team to blink.

Bangladesh enter this contest on a tide of popular acclaim. The manner in which they overcame the Irish in Mirpur last week has reinforced the belief that in their favoured home conditions, with a quartet of canny spinners to take advantage of their slow, low surfaces, they are quite capable of holding their own against teams with superior credentials - let alone a team such as West Indies who are below them in the world rankings. That Ireland were able to saunter past 327 against England in Bangalore, yet flounder in pursuit of 206 in Bangladesh, will serve as a warning to West Indies' power-hitters. Unless someone does a Sehwag - and no prizes for guessing the likeliest candidates - this one could be another war of attrition.

That's not to say that West Indies do not have the skill or patience to overcome the conditions. Chris Gayle's diligent 110-ball 80 against the Netherlands was an atypical performance from such an explosive player, but it mirrored almost perfectly Tamim Iqbal's 86-ball 70 in Bangladesh's opening defeat against India. It's almost as though the two men had primed themselves for a controlled explosion at a later date, and just as Tamim's 44 made the difference against Ireland, the winner of their head-to-head tussle could well propel the destiny of the match.

Realistically, this one is too close to call. Both teams have begun with a win and a loss apiece, but if West Indies' dispatching of the Netherlands was eye-catchingly comprehensive, with Kemar Roach's hat-trick setting the seal on an excellent day's work, Bangladesh's self-belief in their out-muscling of Ireland was no less impressive. Strength in adversity has rarely been Bangladesh's strong-point, but right from the moment Mohammad Ashraful reduced the Irish to 75 for 3 in the 19th over, their body language was that of a team that knew it would win. In a tussle between two teams ranked eighth and ninth in the world, such displays of belief will be critical.