Nigar Sultana, captain of the Bangladesh women’s squad, said that she gambled on rookie leg-spinner Shorna Akter in the final few overs of the first Twenty20 against South Africa, a risk that enabled her team accomplish a historic 13-run triumph at Willowmoore Park in Benoni on Sunday.
Shorna came into the attack in the 14th over of the innings and bowled four overs in a row from one end, finishing with 5-28 in four overs.
Nigar stated that she had the option of going with the more experienced Rabeya Khan in the 18th over, but chose to stick with the 16-year-old wrist spinner.
Shorna dismissed the set batter Anneke Bosch (67 off 49 balls) and Nondumiso Shangase (0) in that over while allowing only two runs, swinging the match in Bangladesh’s favour.
“Shorna does not bowl on a regular basis.” She is a backup bowler, not one of the starters. “However, she bowled brilliantly today [Sunday],” Nigar stated after the game.
“It was a difficult decision for me to give that to Shorna rather than Rabeya, one of my main bowlers.” In the same location, I knew Shorna could bowl rapidly and reliably. We attempted to trap the South African batters in this manner. “I think the gamble I took there paid off,” the wicketkeeper-batter remarked.
Shorna stated after her player of the match performance that she was pleased to contribute to the team’s triumph and aims to do even better in the upcoming games.
“I’m an all-rounder, but I didn’t get to bat today [Sunday].” Alhamdulillah, I was able to fulfil my duties as a bowler. If given another chance in the future, I aspire to outperform myself.”