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Bangladesh skipper Nigar Sultana Joty produced a player-of-the-match performance on Sunday to hand Bangladesh a 14-run victory over Ireland in their first ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifiers match in Abu Dhabi.
Batting first, Nigar’s 67 off 53 deliveries helped Bangladesh post 143-4 on the board, and then Salma Khatun, Sanjida Akter Meghla, and Nahida Akter combined to bowl the Irish out for 129.
After the match, Bangladesh skipper Nigar said she was happy to contribute to the team’s win.
“The first match is always important. I am happy to have contributed to the team. I always try to play my role in the team, which I believe I have been able to do today (Sunday). Hopefully, I can continue doing so in the upcoming matches,” she said after the match.
In Abu Dhabi, Nigar won the toss and opted to bat first. Openers Murshida Khatun and Shamima Sultana gave them a good start as they put together 28 in 4.2 overs before Murshida was trapped LBW by Eimear Richardson.
In came Nigar, and initially, she struggled to keep the scoreboard ticking as at one point she was on nine runs from 22 balls. But once she settled in, the Bangladesh skipper accelerated as she 58 of the next 31 deliveries she faced, and hit 10 fours and one six in total.
Her 62-run stand with Shamima took Bangladesh to 90-2 with 33 balls remaining in the innings. In those five-and-a-half overs, Bangladesh managed 53 runs to reach 143-4.
Nigar, before getting out on the final delivery of the innings, hit four fours and a six in the last two overs to help Bangladesh achieve a fighting total.
Defending the score, Bangladesh got off to a great start as Meghla bowed Gaby Lewis in the second over, before Salma got rid of Orla Prendergast.
Amy Hunter and Laura Delaney’s 45-run stand threatened to take the game away before the former was run out.
Eimear Richardson, who scored 40, was the biggest threat for Bangladesh for a long time, but she got run out in the 19th minute with 23 required, and the match was in Bangladesh’s pocket.
