Nigar Sultana reached 101 off of 80 balls. Bangladesh achieved their best ODI score of 271. Then, to achieve their largest victory in the format in terms of runs (178), they knocked Thailand out for 93. However, the spin twins Fahima Khatun and Jannatul Ferdus’ five wickets apiece—the first in women’s ODI cricket—were the most impressive aspect of the victory in the World Cup qualifying match in Lahore.
It’s actually the second time this has happened in ODI cricket; in 1977, Greg Chappell and Gary Cosier accomplished it for Australia against England in Birmingham.
“It’s an incredible accomplishment when two bowlers take five wickets in a single innings,” Sultana stated in a video that the BCB produced.
“The crew finds inspiration in their contribution today. In the remaining games, I hope they keep doing similar things.
Legspinner Fahima, who took 5 for 21 in 8.5 overs, conversed with offspinner Ferdus, who returned 5 for 7 in five overs, in another BCB video. “Of course it’s reason to be very happy,” Fahima said. This is really satisfying because I’ve had the chance to take five wickets in an innings previously but haven’t been able to.
“I have to admit that when I first started bowling, I thought I would take three wickets today. I thought I had more alternatives for taking wickets. Thankfully, everything turned out okay.
Fahima got two three-wicket hauls in his 45-match ODI career, although he never had a five-for. She has one four-for in T20Is. The five wickets increased Ferdus’ total to eight across all formats, which was far more than she had ever accomplished in her only third ODI and seventh game for Bangladesh altogether.
“This is the first time I have picked up five wickets for Bangladesh,” Ferdus stated. “It’s definitely quite special. It’s something I will always remember from the first time. It will be a memorable experience. I didn’t believe there was a chance to take five wickets because I started bowling late in the match. However, I was attempting to keep the process going, and happily it was successful.
When Ferdus came on to bowl in the 20th over of Thailand’s chase, Fahima had already claimed three wickets and had statistics of 5-1-8-3. Ferdus had a double-wicket maiden in his opening over. Soon after, Fahima returned, and they each took four wickets. Fahima reached her milestone after the match was over, but Ferdus reached it earlier.
“At what point did you feel you could pick up five wickets?” Ferdus was asked by senior pro Fahima.
The two spinners’ accomplishments partially overshadowed Bangladesh captain Sultana’s incredible innings, in which she reached the three-figure milestone despite walking out in the 28th over. Fargana Hoque, the opener, scored 53 runs, while Sharmin Akhter, the third batsman and member of two century partnerships, finished with 94 not out.
“It’s our first win of the tournament, and I am very happy to have contributed to it,” Sultana stated. “Even though this is my first century in ODI cricket, I didn’t have that goal in mind. The goal was to raise the team’s score to 250 or higher. I therefore believed that I should score rapidly and at a strong strike rate when I went out when [Hoque and] Sharma were batting. in order for the hitters that come after them to be able to push Bangladesh above 250. We took advantage of the situation and obtained a respectable total.
After each side played a match, Bangladesh won by a wide margin, putting them at the top of the points table. On Sunday, they will play Ireland.
India
