Bangladesh end 10-year win drought, edge out Scotland
Bangladesh displayed superb team effort to beat Scotland by 16 runs in the opening match of the Women’s T20 World Cup here on Thursday. This was Bangladesh’s first win at the T20 World Cup since 2014.
Opting to bat, Bangladesh posted 119/7, riding on Sobhana Mostary’s 36 off 38 balls and opener Shathi Rani’s 29. Skipper Nigar Sultana made a run-a-ball 18, while Fahima Khatun remained unbeaten on 10 off five balls.
Right-arm spinner Saskia Horley was the pick of the Scotland bowlers, scalping three wickets for 13 runs from her two overs. Kathryn Bryce (1/23), Olivia Bell (1/23) and Katherine Fraser (1/23) also picked up one wicket apiece.
Scotland wicketkeeper-batter Sarah Bryce tried her best to get her side over the line with an unbeaten knock of 49 off 52 balls in the chase, but she didn’t get enough support from her teammates as her side could only manage 103/7 in their allotted 20 overs. Scotland kept losing wickets at regular intervals as Bangladesh’s bowlers tightened their grip on the opposition batters. Besides Bryce, only two Scotland batters managed double-digit scores — skipper Kathryn Bryce (11) and Priyanaz Chatterji (11).
Medium-pacer Ritu Moni shone for Bangladesh with the ball with figures of 2/15 in her four overs. Marufa Akter (1/17), Nahida Akter (1/19), Fahima Khatun (1/21) and Rabeya Khan (1/20) also chipped in with wickets for Bangladesh.
“We have been waiting for this moment for a long time. We had in our minds that this is our moment,” Sultana said.
Bowlers power Pakistan to 31-run win against SL
Pakistan's bowlers fired in unison to guide their team to a memorable 31-run win over Sri Lanka in their low-scoring opening match.
Batting first, Pakistan were bowled out for 116 in exactly 20 overs. In reply, Sri Lanka were stopped at 85/9.
Skipper and Player of the Match Fatima Sana top-scored for Pakistan with 30 off 20 balls, while her Sri Lankan counterpart Chamari Athapaththu (3/18), Sugandika Kumari (3/19) and Udeshika Prabodhani (3/20) shared nine wickets between them.
Defending a small total, left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal led the way for Pakistan with excellent figures of 3/17 in four overs, while there were two wickets apiece for Omaima Sohail (2/17), Nashra Sandhu (2/15) and captain Sana (2/10).
Brief scores: Bangladesh: 119/7 in 20 overs (Mostary 36, Rani 29; Horley 3/13) vs Scotland: 103/7 in 20 overs (Bryce 49*; Moni 2/15); Pakistan: 116 all out in 20 overs (Sana 30; Athapaththu 3/18, Kumari 3/19, Prabodhani 3/20) vs Sri Lanka: 85/9 in 20 overs (Nilakshi 22; Iqbal 3/17).
