Sayeed Muhammad: Winning a trophy of any big cricket tournament had long been a dream for Bangladesh. However, the long-cherished dream came true as Tigresses earned Bangladesh first ever trophy yesterday.
Despite the Tigers raising hopes of bagging trophies in such tournaments many a time in the past, they failed by the slightest margin in most occasions, with the latest incident in the final match of the Asia Cup T20 tournament.
Ace all-rounder Shakib-Al-Hasan, dashing opener Tamim Iqbal and even the captain cool Mashrafe Mortaza had to leave the nation’s expectation unfulfilled for a long while.
But the stigma was removed Bangladesh women’s cricketers as they
ldefeat India by three wickets to claim the 7th Asia Cup T20 title, thanks to the priceless and timeless effort by the women cricketers.
Earlier, Bangladesh national team (male) had won ICC and ACC trophies; neither of which was international. The Tigers nearly won three titles: one in the 2012 Asia Cup, the second one in the 2016 Asia Cup T20 tournament and the other in the Nidahas Trophy held in March. But the 2016 setback was the most crucial as Bangladesh was defeated by just 1 run.
Winning the toss, the Tigresses sent India to bat first, a decision proved wise as the batting side lost four wickets within 10 overs. Nahida was the most economical among Tigress bowlers, conceding just six from three overs, with Khadija Tul Kubra and Rumana Ahmed bagging two wickets each. Jahanara Alam claimed one wicket.
The six-time champion set a target of 113 runs losing nine wickets from the 20-over quota. In their reply, Bangladesh started confidently, posting 35 runs in 6.5 overs when the first wicket fell.
Thing looked even easier for the Tigresses until they lost Sanjida Islam and Rumana Ahmed in the fourth and fifth deliveries of the last over, with one two run needing in the last ball. Then came Jahanara Alam who had to deal with the nerve-racking task, and she made it in style, scripting the history of Bangladesh, with three wickets in hand.