Dhaka, Apr 17 (V7N) –Bangladesh are still in contention for a Women's Cricket World Cup 2025 spot despite losing to the West Indies, whereas Pakistan confirmed their place after overcoming Thailand.

Resilient Windies overcame the Tigresses by three wickets to keep their dreams alive in a tight contest in Lahore.

Opting to bat in Lahore, Bangladesh were dealt an early blow after Henry struck to remove Sobhana Mostary, caught behind.

Sharmin Akhter Supta and Fargana Hoque Pinky steadied the ship with a solid 118-run stand, before the latter was caught and bowled by Aaliyah Alleyne.

The pacer struck again two balls later with a peach of a delivery ripping through Sharmin’s stumps to put an end to her 79-ball 67-run knock.

The right-hand batter’s knock included 10 fours that kept the scorecard ticking for Bangladesh.

Sharmin’s wicket sparked a flare and the West Indies kept striking at regular intervals thereafter, with skipper Hayley Matthews (2/42) and Afy Fletcher (2/43) joining in with two wickets apiece.

Nahida Akter (25) and Rabeya Khan (23*) came up with useful runs towards the end with a big final over that included four boundaries as Bangladesh ended their 50-over quota at 227/9. 

Alleyne was the star with the ball for the Windies, helping herself amass figure of 4/39 that dismantled the Bangladesh top-order.

Chasing 228 to stay alive in the Qualifier, the Caribbean side started off well but quickly found themselves at 74/3 from 26/0, with Qiana Joseph (31), Shemaine Campbelle (24) and Zaida James (nine) starting off well but unable find the rhythm to surge ahead, thanks to the Bangladesh spinners.

Matthews and Stafanie Taylor joined hands and the pair added up a resilient 66-run stand for the fourth wicket to bring the Windies back into the contest.

With Marufa Akhter striking big to dismiss both batters in consecutive overs, the West Indies once again found themselves in troubled waters.

Henry and Shabika Gajnabi (20) forged a strong 50-run partnership to put them back in the chase, before drama unfolded once again as Ritu Moni struck to get rid of the latter.

However, Henry picked pace with her big hitting and finished off the job in resilient fashion with four overs to spare.

The West Indies face Thailand next in their final Qualifying clash Saturday, whereas Bangladesh take on hosts Pakistan in the last game on the same day.

The women in red and green will advance to the Cricket World Cup with victory.

Even in the event of a Windies win and a Bangladesh loss, Nigar Sultana Joty and Co can still progress provided the margin of defeat is not big.

11TH MATCH

Bangladesh women 227/9 (Sharmin 67, Fargana 42, Alleyne 4/39) lost to West Indies women 228/7 in 46 overs (Henry 51*, Taylor 36, Marufa 2/38) by 3 wickets

 

END/MSS/RH