Sorry Bangladesh suffer thrashing

Bangladesh national women’s team produced a sorry performance on Monday as they were thrashed by nine wickets by Pakistan in their second match of the ongoing Asia Cup in Sylhet.

Batting first, Bangladesh could only muster 70-8 in their 20 overs as only three batters reached double figures.

In reply, Pakistan cruised to the target losing just one wicket to claim their second-consecutive nine-wicket win with 46 balls in hand.

“None of our batters could bat for long, resulting in our low total. We lost a wicket in the first over, which created more pressure on us. From there, we planned to create partnerships and depend on singles. But the batters could not do it, and we lost a few more wickets,” a frustrated Salma Khatun said after the match.

She added, “Our top-order had been doing well. But it was not in our favour today. That is why the top-order made mistakes. We tried to score some more. Our target was to score 100 if we could play 20 overs. But we could not.”

Pakistan won the toss and opted to field first, the decision stemming from the previous night’s rain in Sylhet.

And their opening pacer Diana Baig made full use of the conditions as she sent back opener Shamima Sultana (1) and Rumana Ahmed (1) within the powerplay. Left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal dismissed Fargana Hoque (1), and Bangladesh lost three within the
powerplay.

Bangladesh skipper Nigar Sultana Joty (17) and Lata Mondal (12) put together 24 runs for the fourth wicket, but their slow scoring rate to thwart the collapse meant Bangladesh only had 27-4 on board at the half-point of their innings, with Lata also back in the hut.

After dismissing Lata, Nida Dar dismissed Nigar too. And among the others, only Salma could manage something substantial as she stayed unbeaten on 24, with Bangladesh stuttering to 70-8 in 20 overs.

In reply, Pakistan got off to a comfortable start as their openers Muneeba Ali (14) and Sidra Ameen put together 49 runs in 45 deliveries. Salma got rid of Muneeba, but from there on, Sidra and skipper Bismah Maroof (12*) took them as the former stayed unbeaten on 36.

Despite the rain on the previous night, Bangladesh did not pick their premier pacer Jahanara Alam, which saw them failing to utilise the help from the weather.

“Our spin attack is stronger. The pacers were also doing well. Lata is bowling well, and so is Jahanara. I think the skipper saw the wicket and thought spinners would have the upper hand, and thus took the decision (to drop Jahanara),” Salma explained after the match.

Bangladesh’s fielding was also subpar on the day, and Salma believed it was just a bad day.

“On days like this, everything goes wrong. We were misfortunate today and also scored very little. That is why we were under pressure and thus the misfielding. We were doing pretty well. We misdid it today. We are gradually improving. It will get better in the future,” the all-rounder said.

About wicket-keeper Shamima’s mistakes, Salma explained, “When there is a low score on the board, everybody is under pressure. It’s not that only the keeping has been totally bad, it’s everybody. This is a part of the game. We will work on it. We will come prepared in the next matches.”

Bangladesh’s next match is against Malaysia on Thursday.