Nigar’s 75 powers Bangladesh to victory over Sri Lanka in 1st T20

Skipper Nigar Sultana hit a sublime 75 not out off 51 balls to guide Bangladesh women’s team to a six-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the first Twenty20 of the three-match series at the SSC Ground in Colombo on Tuesday.

Nigar’s unbeaten knock assisted by Ritu Moni’s 33 off 23 balls took Bangladesh to 146-4 in 19.5 overs, completing their highest successful run chase in T20s.

Earlier, Sri Lanka’s Harshita Samarawickrama made 45 off 44 balls and captain Chamari Athapaththu scored 38 off 28 balls to help the hosts post 145-6.

Leg-spinner Fahima Khatun took 2- 20 for Bangladesh while four other bowlers claimed one wicket each.

Asked to bowl first, Bangladesh bowlers did well to keep Sri Lanka relatively quiet in the first 10 overs, as the hosts reached 71-2 at the halfway stage.

Bangladesh bowlers further tightened the screws in the following overs, with Fahima striking in consecutive deliveries to reduce Sri Lanka to 114-5 after 17 overs.

But the bowlers lost the plot in the final three overs, leaking 31 runs to help Sri Lanka post a fighting total.

Pacer Faria Trisna was the worst offender, conceding 12 runs in the final over, six of which came from wides.

In reply, Bangladesh lost both openers inside five overs with just 23 runs on the board.

Nigar then took control over the match with two decisive innings which sealed the fate of the match.

She first formed a 51-run partnership off 39 balls with Sobhana Mostary (17 off 24 balls) to steady the innings.

After Sobhana departed in the 12th over, Nigar joined hands with Ritu and together they added 71 runs for the fourth wicket off 51 balls.

The partnership ended in the fourth ball of the final over, when Ritu got run out with scores on level.

But Nigar didn’t let the wicket faze her as she took a single off the penultimate over to seal the memorable victory for Bangladesh.