On Thursday, tournament host Bangladesh defeated Scotland by 16 runs to kick off the Women’s T20 World Cup away from home. Bangladesh scored 119-7 and held Scotland to 103-7, with off-spinner Saskia Horley taking 3-13, to get their Group B campaign off to the best possible start. However, Scotland’s lack of assistance for the brilliant Sarah Bryce (49* from 52) saw them fall short on their tournament debut in the mid-afternoon heat of the United Arab Emirates.
When Saskia Horley (8 off 12) was led down the track by the superb Fahima Khatun. She took the first wicket and set up a stumping for Nigar Sultana. Without question, a promising relationship between Scotland’s Bryce sisters ended abruptly when Marufa Akter defeated Kathryn Bruce (11 from 11) in the final on the powerplay.
Bangladesh Spinners Dominate
Scotland had set themselves up for a second-half chase. But an attempt to accelerate the scoring pace ended with Ailsa Lister’s innings. She lofted a catch to Rabeya Khan off Ritu Moni for 11 off 12, leaving the Scots on 49/3 at the halfway point of the second innings. But in the face of a disciplined bowling effort by Bangladesh, particularly from the spinners, wickets kept falling as Scotland failed to raise the run rate.
Sarah Bryce remained, so there was some hope for Scotland. Still, she couldn’t do it all on her own. She finished unbeaten on 49* from 52, with none of the lower order managing to reach the boundary and put the Scots in contention. They concluded on 103/7, 16 runs short of the mark, missing out on a memorable shock in their debut World Cup match. Bangladesh won the toss and batted first in the tournament opener against Scotland in Sharjah.
Late Breakthroughs for Scotland
Bangladesh openers Shathi Rani and Murshida Khatun appeared to be on the right track from the outset, but Scotland’s disciplined bowling kept them close to a six-run lead through four overs. And it paid off when Khatun (12 from 14) sought to boost the ante and mistimed a lofted drive down the ground off Kathryn Bryce. This gave Scotland their first wicket in the fifth over.
No. 3 hitter Sobhana Mostary began in the same vein as the openers and quickly resumed constructing the innings alongside Rani. Rani’s collapse came as a result of one too many shots. She was caught in the deep while chasing Fraser for 29 from 32 balls. Taj Nehar (0 from 1) then ran out of the crease due to a misunderstanding with Mostary.
In the middle overs, Mostary (36 from 39) and skipper Nigar Sultana (18 from 18) raised the total to a level with which they could compete. However, breakthroughs from Olivia Bell and Saskia Horley gave Scotland the advantage in the final overs, with Bangladesh finishing on 119/7, bolstered by Fahima Khatun’s (10* off 5) attacking cameo.
Final Thoughts
Bangladesh will have a harder time against England if they score more quickly. Bangladesh had the worst fielding performance on the first day, allowing four opportunities, and they will need to improve in that area if they are to overcome England for the first time in women’s T20Is. This is an evening game, but Sharjah is projected to have less dew than Dubai, which may have influenced Pakistan’s decision to bat in the evening game on Thursday.
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