“I can’t express my feelings in words,” said an exalted Nigar Sultana after leading Bangladesh women team in their historic first-ever World Cup victory against Pakistan on Monday.
The nine-run win in New Zealand’s Hamilton, also the maiden against Pakistan, almost eclipsed Bangladesh women’s loss in their first two matches to South Africa and New Zealand in this World Cup.
“We beat Pakistan. We beat them in the World Cup. It’s a history,” captain Nigar said. “I can’t express my feelings in words. It’s a big achievement, and we would like to carry this momentum forward.”
What Bangladesh men’s team did in 1999— beating Pakistan in World Cup and securing first World Cup win— women did in 2022.
“We know this Pakistan team better than the other teams as we played them in many matches,” Nigar added. “Playing them on a regular basis helped us to beat them in the World Cup.”
Bangladesh batted first in this match and posted a challenging total of 234 for seven in 50 overs. Fargana Hoque scored 71 for Bangladesh while Nigar scored 46.
In reply, Pakistan fell short of nine runs and lost the match despite a century from the opener Sidra Ameen.
After breaking Pakistan’s opening stand of 91 runs, the Bangladesh bowler never looked back. Fahima Khatun took three wickets while Rumana Ahmed took two for Bangladesh to complete a historic win.
Source: United News of Bangladesh