Having already secured their World Cup ticket, Bangladesh’s women celebrated it in style with a dominant on-field performance. They simply blew away the Scotland women’s team at Kirtipur in Nepal today, Friday.
Powered by a blistering half-century from captain Nigar Sultana and a fiery bowling spell from Marufa Akter, Bangladesh Women crushed Scotland by a massive 90 runs. In terms of runs, this is Bangladesh’s third-largest victory in T20 internationals.
With four wins in the group stage and two more in the Super Six, Bangladesh Women have now won six matches in a row in the World Cup qualifiers.
After winning the toss at the Tribhuvan Cricket Ground in Kirtipur and opting to bat, Bangladesh made an excellent start. Openers Dilara Akter and Juwairia Ferdous put on 67 runs for the opening stand.
Soon after, however, Bangladesh lost two quick wickets, Dilara departed for 39 and Juwairia for 22. Sharmin Akter Supta (15), batting at number three, also failed to settle.
Then came the real ‘show’. Nigar and Sobhana Mostary added a destructive 100-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Nigar smashed an unbeaten 56 off just 35 balls, hitting five fours and three sixes.
Sobhana provided ideal support, playing a whirlwind innings of 47 off only 23 balls before getting out. Bangladesh finished on 191 for 5 in 20 overs, jointly their second-highest team total in T20 internationals.
Bangladesh’s highest T20 total is 255. In that South Asian Games match, they bowled Maldives out for just six runs and won by a record margin of 249 runs. In the 2024 Women’s Asia Cup, Bangladesh posted their second-highest score of 191 and defeated Malaysia by 114 runs.
In reply, Scotland lost momentum immediately under Bangladesh’s bowling onslaught. Marufa Akter struck with the very first ball of the innings.
Losing wickets at regular intervals, Scotland’s innings collapsed like a house of cards. Their highest score came from number eight Pippa Sproul, who made 27. Scotland managed only 101 for 9 in their 20 overs. Marufa took three wickets, while Swarna Akter claimed two.
Brief Scores
Bangladesh: 191/5 in 20 overs (Nigar 56*, Sobhana 47, Dilara 39, Juwairia 22; Katherine 1/39, Priyanaz 1/40).
Scotland: 101/9 in 20 overs (Pippa 27*, Megan 20, Priyanaz 20; Marufa 3/25, Swarna 2/21, Rabeya 1/18).
Result: Bangladesh won by 90 runs.
Player of the Match: Nigar Sultana.