Bangladesh Aims for Historic Win in Women’s T20 World Cup Opener
Bangladesh’s Nigar Sultana is determined to lead her team to victory in their opening match of the Women’s T20 World Cup against Scotland on October 3. A win would be a significant milestone for Bangladesh, who have not won a match in their last four World Cup appearances and have only one victory in five editions.
Sultana emphasizes that Bangladesh is not underestimating Scotland. “We want to win the first match,” she said. “It will be a huge achievement for the team. The team will get into a flow when that happens. We can then dream of something bigger. We are hungry for it.”
Scotland, however, is a formidable opponent. “They won’t let you win easily. They don’t give up without a fight. We are mentally prepared to face those challenges,” Sultana said.
Despite their past struggles, Sultana and Bangladesh have ambitious goals. They aim to challenge England, West Indies, and South Africa, the other teams in their group, and reach the semi-finals. “To play in the semi-final, we have to win against those three teams, too,” Sultana said. “We have different plans against each team. If we can execute our gameplan, then it will good for us.”
Bangladesh’s batting has been a concern in recent series, but Sultana is confident in the team’s young players, such as Shathi Rani and Taj Nehar. “Batting is definitely a concern but we saw some improvements among the batters during the ‘A’ team tour [of Sri Lanka],” she said.
Bangladesh’s strength lies in their spin attack, led by left-arm spinner Nahida Akter and 19-year-old legspinner Rabeya Khan. Sultana praised Rabeya’s contributions, saying, “She has taken our team to a different level through her contributions in both formats. She is a great fielder. She is good with the bat too but doesn’t take batting seriously. She is maturing slowly. If there’s someone I rely with the ball in tough situations after Nahida, it is definitely Rabeya.”