16 July 2023 will be inscribed as a day of double delight, a red-letter day for Bangladesh cricket. It rained at SBNCS Dhaka and rained at SNCS, Sylhet. But on this day Bangladesh Tigress earned the first ever win against formidable India in ODI beating them by 40 runs. Bengal Tigers also recorded the first ever T20 series win against strong Afghanistan winning by 6 wickets. Nature even blessed Bangladesh as rain came and went and did not force abandonment.
Bangladesh Afghanistan T20 Series
2nd Match Played at SNCS, Sylhet
Bangladesh 119/4 in 16.1 Over / 17 Overs (Litton K Das 33, Afif Hossain 24, Tawhid Hridoy 19, Shakib Al Hasan 18*, Azmatullah Omarzai 2/27, Mujeeb Ur Rahman 2/28)
Afghanistan 116/7 in 17 Overs (Azmatullah Omarzai 25, Ibrahim Zadran 22, Karim Janat 20, Taskin Ahmed 3/33, Shakib Al Hasan 2/15 , Mustafizur Rahman 2/30
Bangladesh Won the Match by 6 wickets on D/L Method
Bangladesh Won the Series 2-0
Payer of the Match: Shakib Al Hasan
Player of the Series: Shakib Al Hasan.
Rain was in the forecast and rain interrupted. If there was any doubt about the superiority of Bangladesh over Afghanistan after the win in the first rain curtailed 1st match of the series, it was dispelled in the second match which Bangladesh won more comfortably dominating the proceeding from the outset. The wings of the free stroking Afghan openers Gurbaz and Zazai were clipped by tweeting Taskin very early by the 3rd over. Afghan innings could not gather momentum as Shakib (2/15) and Mustahfiz (2/30) followed up the great work of Taskin 3/33. Afghans could reach as far as 116/7 in rain shortened 17 overs. Azmatullah Omarzai 25, Ibrahim Zadran 22 and Karim Janat 20 tried to resist but could not prevail over Bangladesh bowlers. Bangladesh let Afif open the innings alongside Litton. That gamble paid dividends. The youngster was pleading for letting him play in the top order for a while. This time the gamble paid off. Bangladesh openers putting up 67 runs in the first wicket partnership in 9.1 overs set the solid foundation for winning the match. Hridoy and Shakib followed up with a brief 31 runs 4 wicket partnership after departure of Litton, Afif and Shanto.
The goal was reached in 16.1 overs as Bangladesh cruised to 119/4 with 5 balls to spare. Bangladesh recorded the first ever T20 series win against Afghanistan earning a series whitewash. This win evidenced that Bangladesh has come with terms of T20 format. In recent times Shakib led Bangladesh won series against England, Ireland and now against Afghanistan. This completes the tour of Afghanistan. They were blown out in the one-off test.
However, Bangladesh lost the ODI series (1-2). But bounced back earning a whitewash in the two matches T20 series. This must have given a huge moral boost to team tigers with two major international events round the corner. Winning the T20 series in the manner that Bangladesh achieved is of great significance as Afghans are very formidable in this format.
If we sum up in one sentence. Bangladesh spearheaded by the best all-rounder in all formats Shakib Al Hasan has found a way to win with a group of maturing budding group of talented players. All is looking good for Bangladesh at the right time.
Bengal Tigress Rocked the Indian Eves
Bangladesh 152 in 43 Overs (Nigar Sultana 39, Sharmin Akhtar 27, Sultana Khatun 16, Amanjot Kaur 4/31)
India 113 All Out in 35.5 Overs (Deepti Sharma 20, Yastika Bhatia 15, Amanjot Kaur 15, Marufa Akter 4/29, Rabeya Khatun 3/30)
Bangladesh won by 40 runs in D/L method.
Player of the match: Marufa Akter
Bangla tigress recorded their first ever win against formidable Indian eves at SBNCS early on the evening thumping them by a significant margin of 40 runs in the rain ruined 1st match of the ODI series. Batting first Bangladesh girls had to keep their patience and focus against very incisive bowling of Indian medium pacers Amanjot Kaur (4/31).
Captain Nigar Sultana led the charge with a patient 39, Sharmin Akhtar (27) and Sultana Khatun (16) down the order also made useful contribution in the low scoring match. The wicket was gripping and turning. Bangladesh pacers and spinners expertly exploiting the wicket made run scoring extremely difficult for the otherwise strong Indian batting line up. Marufa Akter bowled in the perfect channel and moving appreciably strangled Indian eves taking 4 /31. Leg spinner Rabeya also chipped in taking 3/30. In the end Bangladesh girls recorded the historic win by 40 runs in D/L method count.
Bangladesh cricket admirers will remember the day of double delight. Our eves can win more matches if they can lift their batting a little bit. Bangladesh bowling is definitely very competitive as was evidenced in the T20 series as well. The batters must learn playing straight in the V. They have a tendency of playing across the line most of the time.
BDST: 0136 HRS, JULY 17, 2023
SMS
