Bangladesh 123 for 6 (Shorna 39*, Sultana 36, Fatima 2-18) beat Pakistan 100 for 8 (Muneeba 25, Nahida 3-18, Meghla 3-21) by 23 runs
Bangladesh’s spinners made a contest out of the match despite Pakistan needing a mere 124 to win. Their middle-overs stranglehold turned what looked to be certain defeat into a memorable 23-run victory.
Bangladesh eventually put up 123, and victory helped them leapfrog South Africa and move to No. 3 in Group 1, although South Africa have a game in hand. Pakistan, meanwhile, continued to languish at No. 5, with Netherlands, the T20 World Cup debutants, the only team below them.
Fatima lands early punches
Sultana wanted Bangladesh’s top order to make the most of the batting-friendly conditions in Southampton, but her counterpart Sana made sure that was not the case with a double-strike in her first over. Sana accounted for Dilara Akter off the second ball of the second over as the batter top-edged one to mid-on while going for a wild hack across the line.
Three balls later, Sana produced a gem. She got the ball to jag back into Sharmin Akter from good length, beat her inside edge, and thud her onto the pads right in front of the stumps. Bangladesh could not score off her first ten balls. Her opening burst (3-1-9-2) left a severe dent in Bangladesh’s innings as they managed only 23 for 3 in the first six overs.
Pakistan take the catches – finally
While the first Bangladesh wicket provided an early opening for Pakistan, it must have also come as a relief for them as a chance was safely held on to rather than being shelled as had mostly been the case with them over this tournament. Nashra Sandhu, who took the catch to dismiss Dilara, was in action again when she caught Juairiya Ferdous off Rubab to leave Bangladesh reeling at 13 for 3.
But the grab that must have provided the most respite to Pakistan’s fielding coach came right after the drinks interval when Aliya Riaz, who has been under the scanner for her hapless fielding, took Ritu Moni’s catch at long-on. While there were lapses in the ground fielding as a few regulation stops burst through the hands of the fielders, Pakistan overall looked a much improved fielding side from their defeats against India and South Africa.
Shorna’s last blitz
When Sultana fell to Sadia Iqbal off a poor shot, Bangladesh were 92 for 6 two balls into the 18th over. But a late display of sensational shots from Shorna made sure the Bangladesh bowlers had a competitive total to work with. Shorna hit five boundaries and top-scored in the innings as Bangladesh smashed 43 runs off the last four overs. With the off-side packed, she often backed away to hit the ball over the fielders or scythe it through the gaps.
Pakistan squander position of advantage
Pakistan were going smoothly at 49 for 0 in the eighth over before Gull Feroza cut Nahida’s half-tracker right into the hands of point. In Nahida’s next over, the tenth of the chase, Muneeba smashed what was another long hop to deep square leg. The two had laid the foundations astutely by seeing off Marufa Akter, who had taken two first-over wickets against Pakistan in the 2025 ODI World Cup match in Colombo.
But once the openers were dismissed, none of the Pakistan batters took responsibility. They lost six wickets from overs eight to 16. Meghla ran through Pakistan’s middle order with the wickets of Ayesha Zafar and Aliya Riaz in the 12th over, before removing Saira Jabeen for nought in her next.
It seemed Pakistan had solely pinned hopes on their captain to deliver yet another heroic innings. When Sana holed out to long-on at the start of the 18th over, Bangladesh erupted in celebration.
Ahsan Iftikhar Nagi is a cricket journalist based in Lahore
