Ultimately, it was a 'what if' game for Bangladesh as was the case in the Women's ODI World Cup 2025
What if the fielding lapses didn't exist? What if the young team didn't let the pressure get to them? What if the batters scored a few more runs in the PowerPlay?
The one thing that captain Nigar Sultana Joty would not change, even in retrospect, is the decision to bat first – a decision that surprised many, including her South African counterpart, Laura Wolvaardt.
“Chasing didn't work for us. In the last game, our batters couldn't score in the PowerPlay and we lost early wickets. Our plan was to bat first and give the bowlers something to defend because they did well as a unit. That's why we took the decision to bat first,” she explained.
The Bangladesh bowlers, who had been the strongest side of the team so far, eventually made a mistake in their line and length, which Joty blamed on the conditions. That said, she's happy to take the positives from the game and move on.
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“It was very difficult to grip the ball because there was a lot of dew and the ball got wet. I tried to use the best bowlers. In these matches it is often difficult to maintain the momentum. There are many things we need to learn at this stage, such as what we need to do to get the result in our favor if we find ourselves in this kind of situation in the next matches,” she explained.
To say that the fielding errors led to the defeat would not be an understatement.
Laura Wolvaardt was reprieved on 11 after Rabeya Khan missed a catch-and-bowled chance in the fifth over. Sumaiya Akter couldn't hold on to a catch at wide long-on when Chloe Tryon was on 46. Later, in the final overs of the innings, Nadine de Klerk was dropped by Shorna Akter.
“It happens sometimes during the match. It was very difficult, the pressure was high. I don't want to make excuses, but in such circumstances you really have to keep your nerves calm. Unfortunately we missed those opportunities. If we had held on to those catches, the result could have been different,” Joty said.
“I'm not disappointed, I'd say I'm proud. The way our girls fought for every ball, it wasn't easy at this stage to control such a close game, but they tried their 110%. I'm very happy as captain,” she added.
Published on October 14, 2025
