Bangladesh women’s team made it to the semi-final of the 17th Asian Games Twenty20 Cricket Competition with a dominating 81-run win over Nepal in the quarter-final at the Yeonhui Cricket Ground (YCG) in Incheon yesterday.
The win means Bangladesh will now have to face a tough test in their mission against Sri Lanka in the semi-final at the same venue at 11am today.
Bangladesh bundled the Nepalese for just 26 runs in 15.3 overs after Ayesha Rahman’s 51 enabled them to post 107 for 4.
Batting first, Ayesha and Shahnaz Parvin (12) put on 38 inside nine overs before Nepal’s RC Belbashi and Sonu Khadka troubled the Bangladeshi batters and tied the run-rate down.
Ayesha, however, continued to help the team with a 21-run second wicket partnership with Farzana Haque and a further 18-run fourth wicket stand with Rumana Ahmed and in the process she also registered her fifty. Sita Rana Magar and Sitara Magar bagged a brace each for Nepal conceding 24 and 19 runs respectively.
The high-spirited Bangladeshi bowlers left the Nepalese in tatters from the very beginning of their chase as skipper Salma Khatun and Rumana Ahmed shared six wickets to destroy Nepal’s hope of putting up a fight. Extras bowled for 10 runs were the highest as none of the Nepalese could reach double digits.
Jahanara Alam and Fahima Khatun grabbed two wickets apiece to play a perfect foil to Salma Khatun and Rumana Ahmed.
Panana Ghosh might not get a single wicket but set a record of bowling a full quota of overs without conceding a run. Her bowling figure at the end of match read 3-3-0-0.
Bangladesh women bagged silver medal in the maiden edition of the Asian Games Cricket, held in Guangzhou, China in 2010. Along with Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Japan, Bangladesh received a bye of a direct entry in quarter-final stage of the Games.
Following the victory, Bangladesh women go a step forward in fulfilling the countries dream of a medal from the event. After six days of the event so far none of the country’s athlete made an impact or won any medal.
