Albeit the points table will show them languishing in the sixth place, with only a couple of points from five matches, Bangladesh have been among the standout performers in the ongoing ICC Women’s World Cup.
Ranked seventh in ODI cricket, Nigar Sultana Joty’s team began their campaign with a victory against Pakistan, and then followed it up with a valiant display against England — a match they could well have won but for Heather Knight’s resistance.
A similar tale unfolded against South Africa, where Nadine de Klerk played a stunning knock to inflict yet another deflating defeat on the Tigresses. Still, the Tigresses have earned admiration for their grit, and morale remains high ahead of Monday’s (20 October) clash with Sri Lanka at Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium.
A cornerstone of Bangladesh’s campaign has been their trio of leg-spinners, featuring a 32-year-old veteran in Fahima Khatun, alongside two youngsters in Rabeya Khan and Shorna Akter. Collectively, they have taken 14 wickets of Bangladesh’s 28 wickets.
Speaking about teaming up with the youngsters and hunting in a pack, Fahima told The Quint during the pre-match press conference:
Among the eight teams in this World Cup, we’re the only one with three leg-spinners — and all three are of different types. As a senior, I always try to work closely with them and offer encouragement. They’re young, talented, and very important to our team. I often tell them, “You’re better than me; I still have a lot to learn from you.” Having three different kinds of leg-spinners is a huge advantage for us.Fahima Khatun
On Bangladesh’s overall performance, she opined:
I think we’ve lost the last few games, but there have been a lot of positives. A few of our batters have done really well, even though we unfortunately lost to teams like England and South Africa. But now, our batting looks much better — we just need one or two more players to step up and join that group, and things will improve even more.Fahima Khatun
Bangladesh had previously beaten Sri Lanka in a warm-up game, and Fahima hopes to draw confidence from that result.
You know, we did really well against Sri Lanka in the practice game, so that gives us confidence. Our batters performed really well in that match, and hopefully, they can do the same in tomorrow’s game. I think we’ve already adjusted well to these conditions, and three or four of our batters have been in good form. Our captain is a very good batter — she trained well today, and I believe she’ll do even better tomorrow.Fahima Khatun