Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana revealed that her team was left in tears after their heartbreaking loss to South Africa in Vizag in the Women’s World Cup 2025 on Monday, October 13. Bangladesh posted 232 runs in their 50 overs on the back of fifties from Sharmin and Shorna Akter and seemed to have their noses in front when the Proteas were left reeling at 78 for five.
From there, Marizanne Kapp and Chloe Tryon scored fifties before Nadine de Klerk pulled off another finishing masterclass to secure the three-wicket win. This was the second time Bangladesh lost a close encounter after falling to England and their straight one in the tournament. Despite this, Sultana said she was proud of her young team’s performance as they gave their 110 percent.
The Bangladesh skipper said despite batting sensibly in the powerplay, they were 10-15 runs short in the end.
“First of all, I am really proud of the way my girls fought till the last ball of the match but I am sad because they are crying in the dressing room. They are so young. I am really happy as they gave their 110% in the ground, fight for each and every run and they are very emotional. They kept believing that we can get this win. It was a big learning for us.
“See, we have been losing early wickets in the powerplay. Our main plan was to not giveaway any wicket inside the powerplay and also build a partnership. We introduced Pinky today. She is a senior player. Everyone gave their best in the middle but we were still 10-15 runs short. Maybe that could’ve been a bigger difference today,” said Sultana.
Women’s World Cup 2025, SA vs BAN: Highlights | Scorecard
‘Match slipped away after 30th over’
Sultana drew parallels to the England loss and felt the game slipped away after the 30th over. Bangladesh also dropped catches of Tryon and De Klerk at crucial points in the game but Sultana feels her side has shown courage in the tournament.
“This happened in the England game as well. We managed to pick 5 early wickets but the match slipped away after the 30th over. During the break, we were talking about hitting the right lengths. The bowlers did really well. Unfortunately something happened in the middle which happens in the game of cricket. It was a good experience for us. My team is very young but they have shown brilliant courage since that New Zealand game,” said Sultana.
“I will just say that everyone needs to be proud of their efforts. This is not our last game of the tournament. We have 3 more games left. We should be proud and we should keep our heads held high. We gave them a tough fight.”
Bangladesh face Australia in their next match on October 16.
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