Bangladesh Start Women's T20 World Cup with a Win
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Bangladesh began their Women's T20 World Cup matches with a victory. In the first match against the Netherlands at Edgbaston, Nigar Sultana Joty's team secured a six-wicket win. Bangladesh chased down the target of 140 runs in the final over of their innings, scoring 141 runs for the loss of four wickets.
The win was credited to all-rounder Swarna Akter and batter Sharmin Sultana. Their 56-run partnership helped Bangladesh recover from a difficult position and reach the target. Sharmin scored 37 runs off 32 balls, while Swarna made 18 runs off 17 balls. The victory was confirmed on the first ball of the 20th over when Swarna hit a boundary.
Earlier, Juiyara Ferdous provided a strong start with a 50-run opening partnership. After Dilara Akter was dismissed for 26 runs, Juiyara went on to score 50 runs off 33 balls, hitting seven fours and two sixes, and was named Player of the Match.
Bangladesh then faced a setback when captain Nigar Sultana was out for zero and Sobhana Mostary fell for four runs. At 85 runs for four wickets, the team was in trouble, but no further wickets fell after that. In bowling, Marufa took two wickets, while Fariha, Sanjida, Rabeya, and Ritu Moni took one each.
This confidence-boosting win will encourage the women cricketers for the remaining matches of the tournament. Before the World Cup started, Bangladesh had lost warm-up matches against Ireland and New Zealand. Earlier, in a tri-series involving the Netherlands and Scotland, they had also lost to the Netherlands. However, in their second meeting, Joty's team won, and now they have won again in the main tournament.
Brief scores:
Netherlands 139 for 8 in 20 overs. Captain Babette de Leede top-scored with 50 runs off 45 balls. For Bangladesh, Marufa took two wickets, while Fariha, Sanjida, Rabeya, and Ritu Moni took one each.
Bangladesh 141 for 4 in 19.1 overs. Juiyara made 50 off 33 balls, and Sharmin made 37 off 32 balls. For the Netherlands, Jilling, Siers, Isabel, and Caroline took one wicket each.