Back-to-Back Defeats Crush Tigresses' Semifinal Hopes
After a promising start with a win against Scotland in their first match of the Women's T20 World Cup, Bangladesh's hopes of reaching the semifinals have been dashed by two consecutive heavy defeats to England and the West Indies.
Although they are not yet mathematically out of the race for the semifinals, it seems nearly impossible to secure a spot after losing two out of three matches.
Aside from the consecutive losses, another major challenge for Nigar Sultana Joty and her team is their net run rate. Bangladesh currently sits in fourth place in Group B with 2 points and a negative net run rate of -0.835. The West Indies lead the group with 4 points and a net run rate of 1.708, while South Africa is in second place with 4 points and a net run rate of 1.527. Bangladesh will face South Africa in their final match.
England, having won two consecutive matches, is in third place with a net run rate of 0.653. Even if Bangladesh wins their last match against South Africa, it would be almost impossible to surpass the net run rates of South Africa and the West Indies.
On Thursday, October 10, Bangladesh set a target of 104 runs for the West Indies, but the Caribbean team chased it down easily, winning with 43 balls and 8 wickets in hand.
The West Indies openers, Hayley Matthews and Stefanie Taylor, got off to a strong start, putting up 52 runs. Matthews was dismissed after scoring 34 off 22 balls, and Taylor retired hurt after making 27 off 29 balls.
Despite a few setbacks, the West Indies comfortably reached the target, thanks to an unbeaten 19 runs from Deandra Dottin, securing the victory with 43 balls and 8 wickets remaining.
Earlier, after losing the toss and being sent to bat, Bangladesh had a decent start. However, openers Sathi Rani (9 off 12 balls) and Dilara Khatun (19 off 18 balls) couldn't build substantial innings.
Captain Nigar Sultana Joty and Sobhana Mostary steadied the innings, taking Bangladesh to 58 runs by the 10th over. However, Mostary was dismissed for 16 off 22 balls.
Bangladesh then lost Taj Nehar and Swarna Akter in quick succession, leaving them at 75/5 in the 15th over. Nigar Sultana fought valiantly, scoring 39 off 44 balls, but her dismissal late in the innings left Bangladesh with a total of 103/8.
Despite the valiant effort, the score proved insufficient, and Bangladesh now faces an uphill battle in their World Cup campaign.
Comments