Nahida Akter, bowling left-arm spin for Bangladesh, took her first five wickets in a Twenty20 International on Wednesday at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram. The match was the first in a three-game series between Bangladesh and Pakistan and was the first of the three to take place.
After Bangladesh had bundled out Pakistan for 82 runs thanks to Nahida’s five wickets for eight runs, Bangladesh’s skipper Nigar Sultana Joty scored a watchful 26 off of 28 balls to lead her team to victory with three balls to spare.
After the top-order hitter, Sobhana Mostary, was bowled in the tenth over, Joty was brought to the plate to continue. She was able to put away three boundaries and keep the score ticking despite experiencing cramps in the later stages of the match, which allowed Bangladesh to prevail in a competition that came dangerously close to being decided by the very last ball.
Following a couple of overs bowled by seamer Marufa Akter, Bangladesh’s captain Joty made the decision to bowl the rest of the innings with five different spinners. This was done after Bangladesh had sent the visitors into the batting position first. In addition to Nahida’s five wickets, Sultana Khatun, Rabeya Khan, and Shorna Akter each picked up one of the remaining wickets.
Bismah Maroof of Pakistan was the player with the highest score, a 20 from 29 balls.
On Friday, the second Twenty20 international will take place at the same location as the first one.