Mohali, Oct. 6: Sri Lanka launch their qualifying campaign for the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy against Bangladesh at the PCA Stadium here on Saturday with the clear intention of gearing up for the bigger battles ahead once the proper tournament gets going on October 15.

Forced into the qualifying route thanks to the ICC rankings six months ago that saw them come in below the automatic sixth-place cut-off, Sri Lanka have a point to prove — as indeed do fellow qualifiers and defending champions the West Indies. Both have strong performances in the recent past and are clearly unhappy at having missed out on a direct entry. On form at least, they have a better claim than some of the six others ahead of them in the ratings.

Sri Lanka had a successful tour of England early this summer where they thrashed the hosts five-nil in the one-day series. To thereafter travel to India and have to qualify is galling, and the Islanders will be pulling no punches against Bangladesh with a full-strength squad set to take the field.

In a warm-up game against the PCA President’s XI on Thursday that they won by 84 runs, the Sri Lankan top order failed to get going but all-rounder Farveez Maharoof’s strokeful 81 from 88 balls enabled them to post a challenging total. Openers Sanath Jayasuriya and Upul Tharanga and the rest of the frontline batsmen all made starts without building on them and it was left to Maharoof and Chaminda Vaas (48) to see their side out of trouble.

That however, does not in any way take away from the quality of batting this Sri Lankan side contains. Jayasuriya made light of his 37 years with a punishing century against England in the summer while skipper Mahela Jayawardene and wicketkeeper-batsman Kumar Sangakkara have been among the runs. Former captain and comeback man Marvan Atapattu too showed signs of having recovered from a long-standing injury with a sedate cameo.

On the bowling front too, Sri Lanka carry too many guns for Bangladesh, who have never won a match in the Champions Trophy. Against the PCA XI, wickets were evenly shared with as many as seven bowlers getting a go. This is a vastly experienced attack spearheaded by two world class acts in Muttiah Muralitharan and Vaas and can call on plenty of variety as well.

Clearly Bangladesh are up against it. Admitted coach Dav Whatmore recently: "We are under no illusion but the Bangladesh team is capable and efficient of beating the best in the business. We have done it in the past and we can do it again.

"However, we have more important things in mind than the trophy or even World Cup. Of course they are also important but our main objective is to build a strong and competitive side over a period of time. That’s where our focus will be when we take on bigger sharks in the pool. We want to use the tournament as an opportunity to test our strength and showcase our talent."

The Bangladeshis too had a successful hit against a PCA XI on Wednesday which they won by seven wickets and plenty of overs to spare. Key batsmen Aftab Ahmed and Saqibul Hasan were among the runs and Syed Rasel and Farhad Reza picked up three wickets apiece to give the team a good lung-opener. To convert that into a upset over Sri Lanka on Saturday, however, requires a mighty leap of faith.

Teams (from):

Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Marvan Atapattu, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Upul Tharanga, Chamara Kapugedera, Malinga Bandara, T.M. Dilshan, Farveez Maharoof, Chaminda Vaas, Dilhara Fernando, Ruchira Perera, Lasith Malinga and Muttiah Muralitharan

Bangladesh: Habibul Bashar (capt), Shahriar Nafees, Mohammad Ashraful, Aftab Ahmed, Saqibul Hasan, Abdur Razzak, Khaled Mashud (wk), Mehrab Hossain Jr, Mohammad Rafique, Rajin Saleh, Shahadat Hossain, Farhad Reza, Mashrafe Mortaza and Syed Rasel