November 8, 2024
Bangladesh and Pakistan win first matches of Women’s T20 World Cup

Bangladesh and Pakistan win first matches of Women’s T20 World Cup

Bangladesh and Pakistan win first matches of Women’s T20 World Cup

“Very moving”: Bangladeshi skipper Nigar Sultana Joty (Rodger Bosch)

Bangladesh ended a 10-year wait to win a Women’s T20 World Cup match on Thursday as Pakistan prepared for a mouth-watering clash with India by beating Asian champions Sri Lanka.

On the opening day of the 2024 tournament, Bangladesh cruised to a 16-run win over Scotland after posting what appeared to be a fragile 119-7 in their 20 overs.

Their bowling attack, however, tied the Scots up and restricted them to 103-7.

Later, Pakistan, who never made it out of the group stages in eight previous attempts, beat Sri Lanka by 31 runs.

Pakistan made 116 in their 20 overs before restricting Sri Lanka to 85-9.

Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana Joty described the end of her team’s long wait for a World Cup victory as “very emotional” and suggested it would create “momentum” for women’s football at home.

“I would say a victory after 10 years, we are all very emotional because we have been waiting for this victory for a long time,” said Joty who was playing his 100th T20I.

“No matter how good cricket we play, if it doesn’t translate into a win, it doesn’t mean anything. And I would say for women’s cricket, after a long time, I feel like we have does something.

“We have always said about Bangladesh that we need to create momentum and then we will continue to build on that momentum.

“Now it looks like we are going to dream of doing something bigger. In the same way, the fans and family who support us in Bangladesh are dreaming that we can do something better than this.”

The momentum of women’s cricket in Bangladesh would have been much greater if the event had been organized as planned.

Instead, weeks of widespread political unrest in Bangladesh, which eventually led to the installation of an interim government, saw the tournament move to the United Arab Emirates, with Bangladesh remaining the nominal host.

“At first it was very heartbreaking because we always keep in mind that we are going to perform in front of our audience,” Joty said.

“But still, the people who came here today, it was great.”

After winning the toss and batting first, Sobhana Mostary top-scored with 36 for Bangladesh.

Their bowlers then throttled the Scottish newcomers despite Sarah Bryce’s 49 from 52 balls.

– ‘Goal achieved’ –

Ritu Moni was named player of the match for her score of 2-15 in four overs.

Pakistan mounted a determined fightback to beat Sri Lanka by 31 runs, with left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal claiming three wickets.

Nashra Sandhu, Omaima Sohail and player of the match Fatima Sana all claimed two each for Pakistan against Asian Cup champions Sri Lanka.

Pakistan needed a crucial lower-order knock from captain Sana to post a competitive total, having slumped to 84-8 after winning the toss and electing to bat.

“We won the toss and we wanted a lot of points but we didn’t get it. We still achieved the target in the match,” Sana said.

For Sri Lanka, Nilakshika Silva top-scored with 22 after Pakistan lost opener Diana Baig to a calf strain after just one ball.

On Friday, India take on New Zealand while South Africa take on West Indies, with both matches taking place in Dubai.

India and Pakistan will face each other on Sunday.

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