Bangladesh bid farewell after losing to India

Bangladesh crashed out of the regional tournament after losing to India by 40 runs in the first semi-final of the Women’s Asia Cup T20 in Dubai on Thursday. The Tigresses suffered a disappointing performance in all three departments – batting, bowling and fielding.

Batting first after losing the toss, India scored 96 for 3 in 15 overs. Bangladesh had managed to keep the opposition batsmen largely under control until then, although they missed several easy opportunities in the field. India scored 53 runs in the last 5 overs to build a competitive capital of 149 for 6.

Shafali Verma made the most of her chance to get a chance to play. She became the highest scorer for the team with an innings of 64 runs off 40 balls. In the end, Harmanpreet Kaur (24 not out), Richa Ghosh (21) and Deepti Sharma (13 not out off 6 balls) ensured a big total for India.

For Bangladesh, Sultana Khatun took 2 wickets for 30 runs. Marufa Akhtar, Nahida Akhtar and Rabeya Khan also took one wicket each.

Chasing a target of 150 runs, Bangladesh’s batsmen never showed a winning mentality. They seemed more focused on saving a big loss than trying to win the match.

Swarna Akhtar, who came in at number five, scored an unbeaten 22 runs off 18 balls, but by then control of the match was completely lost. Bangladesh were restricted to 109 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in the stipulated 20 overs.

Despite needing 7.5 runs per over, Bangladesh’s top-order batsmen failed to increase the run rate. Dilara Akhtar (21 off 26 balls), Juairia Ferdous (14 off 18 balls) and Shorvana Mostari (18 off 24 balls) were unable to build on their innings despite settling in. Captain Nigar Sultana Jyoti (19 off 17 balls) was also unable to lead the team from the front.

Jyoti, who was out of form throughout the tournament, has scored just 56 runs from 4 matches. Deepti Sharma took 3 wickets for 26 runs and Nandini Sharma took 2 wickets for India.

This is Bangladesh’s ninth consecutive defeat to India in international T20s, dating back to September 2023. Bangladesh also lost to India in the semi-finals of the last edition of the Asia Cup.

Seven-time champions India will face the winner of the second semi-final between Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Sunday’s final, aiming to reclaim the title they lost to Sri Lanka in 2024.