The Bangladesh women's team made history at Sedan Park in Hamilton, New Zealand by winning a group stage match against Pakistan on Monday (March 14) in their first-ever World Cup. Bangladesh beat Pakistan by 9 runs in their third match of the ICC 2022 Women’s CWC. This outstanding triumph by the Bangladesh women's team stems back to the 1999 Men's Cricket World Cup reminiscence. Bangladesh's men's cricket team also earned a historic victory over Pakistan by competing in the World Cup for the first time. In this joyous moment, let's take a look back at Bangladesh's two memorable triumphs in cricket.
Bangladesh's women's and men's teams' historic victories against Pakistan in their respective first World Cup
One of the similarities between Bangladesh's women's and men's teams is that both won their first World Cup matches in their third fixtures. Bangladesh women's side suffered heavy losses to South Africa and New Zealand before winning their third match against Pakistan. On the other hand, the Bangladesh men's side lost their first two matches against New Zealand and the West Indies before winning a match against Scotland. Bangladesh's men's team won two of their five matches in the 1999 World Cup event.
Oppositely, Bangladesh's women's side has four matches left in the ICC 2022 Women's CWC. They are presently in sixth place with two points. They have a real possibility of finishing in the top four if they keep winning games in the coming fixtures. However, winning one more match will be regarded as a success for Bangladesh women's team. Take a look at how Bangladesh's women's and men's teams defeated Pakistan in their respective first World Cup.
Read Bangladesh women make history beating Pakistan in World Cup
Tigresses astonished Pakistan by making a remarkable comeback
Following two poor performances, Bangladesh women's team played well with the bat in their third match of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2022 tournament against Pakistan on Monday. They batted first and scored 234/7 in their allocated 50 overs.
Bangladesh passed the 150-run mark thanks to a 96-run partnership between Fargana Haque and skipper Nigar Sultana. The lower middle-order batters then chipped in with their bats to help put a challenging total on the board. Fargana scored the most runs with 71, while Sharmin Akhter (44) and Nigar Sultana (46) also contributed significantly.
Pakistan had displayed a fantastic batting performance till the 40th over and they were on 182/2 at one stage. Pakistan appeared to be on the brink of victory. However, Bangladesh's women's team staged a remarkable comeback in the death overs. They took wickets at regular intervals and ultimately restricted Pakistan's innings to 225/9 in 50 overs.
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Sidra Ameen's 104-run outing was for nothing. She stayed in the crease until the 48th over but was run out at a critical point in the game. Leg-spinner, Fahima Khatun was instrumental with the ball. Her spin shook Pakistan's middle order, and she concluded with an 8-0-38-3 mark. Fahima was deservedly named player of the match.
Tigers stunned the favourite Pakistan
Bangladesh's encounter against Pakistan was their final match in the group stage. Pakistan were the tournament favourites and had already qualified for the Super Six, while Bangladesh were looking to make a strong finish to the 1999 World Cup competition.
Bangladesh scored 223/9 in their 50 overs when they batted first. Akram Khan led the way with 42 runs, while opener Shahriar Hossain scored 39. However, it was Khaled Mahmud's crucial 27 runs in the lower middle order that allowed Bangladesh to post a competitive total.
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Bangladesh's team had no idea they would have such a strong start. However, Khaled Mahmud's slow-medium pace did the job for Bangladesh. Khaled was in a different frame of mind on that particular day as if he was on a mission. Bangladesh took five wickets in 13 overs thanks to his excellent stump-to-stump bowling. Pakistan was reduced to 42/5 and Khaled took three wickets alone.
Bangladesh team smelled victory after some early breakthroughs and they didn't waste it. Bangladesh bowled Pakistan out for 161 runs in 44.1 overs, despite several effective partnerships by Pakistan batters. Bangladesh triumphed by 62 runs, and Khaled Mahmud was named Player of the Match for his superb all-round effort.
Way Forward
Bangladesh men's cricket team has gone a long way since their incredible World Cup triumph over Pakistan in 1999. Bangladesh were granted Test status the following year, and they have since established themselves as one of the world's well-known men's cricket nations.
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Oppositely, Bangladesh's women's team received a lot of media attention after winning the Asia Cup in 2018. The women's side has steadily improved in limited-overs formats since then. No one thought Bangladesh had a chance in the main event before the ICC 2022 Women's CWC. However, they proved everyone wrong by defeating Pakistan in a group phase fixture. Hopefully, this outstanding victory would spur Bangladesh's women's team to reach a new height.