Nigar Sultana hopes Bangladesh eye beating Scotland in their opening match of the Women’s T20 World Cup on October 3. Sultana sees this as a chance to set the tone for Bangladesh, as the team hasn’t won a World Cup match in their last four appearances. Beating Scotland would be a significant achievement for Bangladesh, who last tasted victory in 2014.
Sultana emphasized that although Bangladesh eye victory, they are not underestimating Scotland. She acknowledges that Scotland is playing good cricket and won’t make it easy for Bangladesh. However, she believes a win here will help them build momentum. The statements read:
“We want to win the first match. It will be a huge achievement for the team. The team will get into a flow when that happens. We can then dream of something bigger. We are hungry for it.
“Scotland, though, are playing good cricket. Generally teams arrive at the World Cup with a lot of expectations. They won’t let you win easily. They don’t give up without a fight. We are mentally prepared to face those challenges.
Despite Bangladesh’s struggles in past World Cups, they remain mentally prepared for the challenge. Sultana, who has played in four World Cups without a win, knows that playing well only matters if it results in victories.
Apart from beating Scotland, Bangladesh also want to defeat big teams
Looking ahead, Bangladesh eye victory over stronger teams like England, West Indies, and South Africa in their group. They’ve beaten South Africa twice in 13 matches, which gives them some confidence. However, they rarely play against England outside of World Cups, which Sultana believes could be an advantage.
“To play in the semi-final, we have to win against those three teams, too. We have different plans against each team. If we can execute our gameplan, then it will good for us. We have defeated South Africa in T20Is [twice in 13 completed matches]. We rarely meet England, only in World Cups, so it might be difficult for them, too. We all know that we have a good spin attack.”
Bangladesh will rely on their strong spin attack, led by Nahida Akter and Rabeya Khan. Rabeya, their top wicket-taker this year, has proven herself invaluable in tight situations.
“Rabeya is one of our finest bowlers. She has taken our team to a different level through her contributions in both formats. She is a great fielder. She is good with the bat too but doesn’t take batting seriously. She is maturing slowly. If there’s someone I rely on with the ball in tough situations after Nahida, it is definitely Rabeya.”
Although Bangladesh eye victory, their batting has been a concern. Sultana hopes newcomers like Shathi Rani and uncapped Taj Nehar can strengthen the lineup. With Shathi’s aggressive play in the powerplay, the team aims for more attacking cricket.
She added:
“Batting is definitely a concern but we saw some improvements among the batters during the ‘A’ team tour [of Sri Lanka]. We still believe that we can do well as most of our players have also done well in the domestic tournaments. I hope they continue their form in the World Cup.
“We included Taj for the middle-order, although she doesn’t have experience. We saw her in the league [Women’s National Cricket League] where she showed good approach and intent. She can play the big shots. If you have followed our recent international matches, we failed in showing intent. Shathi was the highest run-getter in the league. She can go after the bowling, and you can see those in some of her innings. She can use the powerplay quite well. She has proved herself to come at this stage.”
Sultana is confident in her team’s preparation. She believes quick adaptation to conditions in the UAE and strong execution of their game plan will lead to success.
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