Bangladesh bounced back from an opening defeat to beat Zimbabwe by nine wickets in Ajman on Friday for their first win of the ICC Women’s Emerging Nations Trophy — a victory achieved without Nahida Akter, the team’s newly appointed T20 captain, who has been ruled out of the tournament with a fractured finger.
Team manager Bulbul Bashar confirmed the injury to The Daily Star on Friday. “There seems to be a minor fracture near the top of the finger. She just needs to rest; she probably won’t be able to play in this current tournament,” Bashar said.
“From what was seen on the film, it needs about two to three weeks of healing time. She will be able to play the New Zealand series,” he added.
Nahida hurt her right hand while trying to stop a shot from Pakistan’s Shawaal Zulfiqar, off the fourth ball of the second over of Pakistan’s innings in Bangladesh’s opening Group B match. She could not complete the over, with Sobhana Mostary bowling the remaining deliveries. Nahida returned to bowl two more overs, the 11th and 13th, but Bangladesh lost that match by eight wickets.
Bangladesh will not call up a replacement for Nahida because the squad travelled to the United Arab Emirates with an extra member, although tournament regulations require teams to have 14 players.
A record opening stand
With Nahida out, Sobhana Mostary led the side, and Bangladesh restricted Zimbabwe to 131 for seven in 20 overs after Zimbabwe chose to bat.
Leg-spinner Rabeya Khan took 3-26 from her four overs, while seamer Disha Biswas claimed two wickets and Ritu Moni one more, the Bengali daily Ittefaq reported. No Zimbabwe batter reached a half-century. Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano top-scored with 40, sharing a 73-run fourth-wicket stand with captain Josephine Nkomo (35) after Zimbabwe had slipped to 34 for three.
Bangladesh’s openers Dilara Akter and Shathi Rani then put together a 104-run partnership — the country’s highest opening stand in women’s T20 internationals, beating the previous best of 103, between Mostary and Dilara against Ireland in 2024. Shathi made 45 off 43 balls; Dilara carried Bangladesh to 132 for one in 17.3 overs, finishing unbeaten on 68 off 49, with Sharmin Akter unbeaten on 6 off 13 at the other end. Ittefaq noted the unbeaten 68 was Dilara’s second half-century in T20 internationals. The Bengali daily gave slightly different figures for Dilara, 67 off 48; The Daily Star’s account is used here.
The Emerging Nations Trophy is being staged in the United Arab Emirates for emerging international sides. Bangladesh have now played two of their Group B matches and sit third in the standings.
What to watch
Nahida’s absence is the central question for Bangladesh’s campaign. Bashar expects her back for the tour of New Zealand next month, but the team must manage the rest of the group stage without its captain. Bangladesh next face the Netherlands in their third Group B match on Monday, a fixture the Ittefaq report dates to 16 November. The side sits third in Group B with one win from two matches.
Sources: The Daily Star; Ittefaq.
Image: Nurunnaby Chowdhury (Hasive), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File photo: Nahida Akter, captain of the Bangladesh women T20 team, pictured in June 2018.