Bangladesh Tigresses Out of the Women T20 World: Heartbreak for the Fans

When the Bangladesh Men’s team has been frustrating the fans with a very disappointing India series, both in Test and T20, the women’s team was supposed to be a source of hope for the fans this time in the T20 World Cup. But it’s been a story of another disappointment as Bangladesh tigresses are officially out of the tournament with a 0% chance of qualifying for the Semifinal! 

While some matches are left and other teams are calculating their chances, it’s unfortunate that the Bangladesh Women’s team will appear in the next matches, hoping to make things tougher for other teams! 

The Hope the Tigresses Came With

Skipper Nigar Sultana Joty and her teammates have sweet memories as they have won one Asia Cup title previously. But they couldn’t fight this year, and Sri Lanka snatched the title.  

Their performance in recent times is not good at all, which has pushed them to the 9^th position on the ICC ranking. As per this ranking, only Scotland is behind the ten participating teams in the tournament. 

Impact of the Changing Scenario of The Country’s Government

When the Bangladesh Women’s team was in the Asia Cup, considered a preparatory tournament for the upcoming T20 World Cup, a student movement was going on in the country, which made the government fall into an unstable situation. 

However, the T20 World Cup was supposed to be held in Bangladesh, where the tigresses could play in their home condition. But, the sudden fall of the then-government changed the whole scenario as no one was prepared for that. Nazmul Hasan Papon, the President of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), resigned as a consequence, and the law & order declined severely. As a result, the tournament was shifted to UAE, and Bangladesh missed the chance to become the host. 

The Journey of Bangladesh Women’s Team in T20 World Cup So Far

No matter how things were, the Bangladesh team was hopeful and confident of performing their best. 

The Preparation

Before the beginning of the tournament, Bangladesh played two Warm-up matches, one with Sri Lanka and another with Pakistan. In both cases, they won with much dominance! Against Sri Lanka, they won by 33 runs, and the margin was 23 against Pakistan women. Considering these results from the warm-up matches, fans were hoping for a good tournament that was supposed to start with the match against Scotland. 

The Series Opener against Scotland

October 3, 2024, is undoubtedly a big day since Bangladesh defeated Scotland by 16 runs in their World Cup opener! Many hoped for a better one this time since this indicates good team form! Batting first, they scored 119, with Sathi Rani and Sobhana Mostary contributing 29 and 36, respectively. 

In the second innings, the whole Bangladesh team performed as a team, with Ritu Moni taking two wickets and four other bowlers taking one wicket each. As a result, Scotland couldn’t score more than 103, and Bangladesh secured their first win!  

The Biggest Chance against England

However, the second match against mighty England was probably one of the most heartbreaking for Bangladesh. With a strong batting lineup of batters like Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Maia Boucher, Heather, and others, the England women’s team was supposed to build a big total. 

However, tight bowling by the tigresses couldn’t let it happen. Nahida, Fahima, and Shorna all took two wickets with a good economy, resulting in England’s score of only 118, with which Bangladesh started dreaming of a memorable chase! 

But things didn’t go as they thought. Bangladeshi batters showed a very frustrating performance with early wickets of top-order batters. While Sobhana Mostary kept the hope at one end, other batters were too quick to give up. However, the most unfortunate incident of the match was probably the runout after scoring 15 of 20 balls. 

The fans saw the lone struggle of Sobhana Mostary, with a score of 44, which remains the only sign of a fight from the tigresses, and Bangladesh lost a golden chance of defeating six-time champion England. 

The Miserable Performance against West Indies

However, chances were still there, as a few matches were left.  Bangladesh couldn’t defeat West Indies women, either. They couldn’t even create a competition! Batting first, they scored only 103, which is not a fighting score. This time, Nigar Sultana, the skipper, scored 39 runs which is the highest for the team. 

While the team’s bowling performance in other matches was not objectionable, they completely surrendered to West Indies batters this time. Nahida and Marufa managed one wicket each, and the others couldn’t put any challenge with the ball. 

Thus, West Indies chased the small target within 12.5 overs only, which seriously affected Bangladesh’s Net Run Rate (NRR). With this win, West Indies saved their chance to reach the semifinal, while South Africa and England grabbed the group’s leading positions. 

Another Defeat against South Africa

Bangladesh batters tried to keep the wicket and score runs in their first innings. While they lost only three wickets, the score was as low as 106. Sobhana and Nigar Sultana again became the top scorers with 38 and 32 runs. 

However, the bowling was worse in this match. In such a low-scoring one, Rabey scored 23 runs in 3.2 overs, while Marufa bowled only one over. South Africa reached the target within 17.2 overs, which finally sealed Bangladesh’s fate, which had suffered three consecutive losses. 

Concluding Remarks

So, what is left for the Bangladesh Women’s team? There is probably some space for a detailed improvement analysis, especially in the batting department. While the bowlers tried their level best with low scores of the batters, the top orders were not consistent. Nigar Sultana and Sobhana played crucial roles in almost every match, while the other batters couldn’t carry that on. 

It’s only one win for Bangladesh against a team in a lower position in the ranking. Honestly, there is not much this team needs to be motivated for. Yet, the success against Scotland and a close match against England could be a source of hope. If Nigar Sultana could save herself from that unfortunate runout, then things could have been different.