Victorious Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana wants her players to build on their drought-breaking ODI triumph over India and create more history for the improving side.
Bangladesh recorded their first victory over India in women’s ODI cricket when they registered an impressive 40-run (DLS method) win over their Asian rivals in Mirpur on Sunday and now get the chance to claim an unlikely series triumph when the three-game series concludes over the next
week.
India had done well to restrict Bangladesh to just 152 in a match reduced to 44 overs per side, but Player of the Match Marufa Akter (4/29) struck twice early in the Powerplay to ensure the more-fancied Indian outfit were all out for just 113 in reply, the ICC reported.
Nigar was understandably upbeat after the win and wants her players to take confidence from the result during the remainder of the series.
“We are very happy winning an ODI after a long time,” Nigar said.
“It is a huge achievement for the team. It will help us play much better in the future. We have defeated India after a long time. Plus, it happened in Mirpur. It is definitely part of history. We
want to create a little more history,” she said.
Not only was it Bangladesh’s first ODI victory over India, but it was also their first win over any opponent in 50-over cricket since they defeated Pakistan by nine runs at last year’s ICC
Women’s Cricket World Cup.
The win also comes just days after the historic announcement from the ICC that will see men and women receive equal prize money at ICC events.
Nigar said it was too early to start celebrating the one-off triumph and is urging her players to strive for more in the future.
“The girls were quite excited but I told them our job isn’t done yet,” she said. “Doing well raises our responsibilities. There are more expectations on us now.”
“We know that if we continue to play better cricket, we will take another step towards a bigger achievement. So I have kept them calmed down from a big celebration,” Nigar said.
The only piece of bad news to come from the match for Bangladesh was the unfortunate situation that saw teenage debutant Shorna Akter taken to hospital after suffering stomach pain.
Nigar is hoping the 16-year-old will be fit to return for the second game of the series against India on Wednesday.
“It was a sudden issue. She is under observation. She was unlucky. We are also unlucky not to get her. If she feels better, we might get her in the next match,” Nigar said.
