Fahima, Lata rejoice after securing semi-final spot

Bangla Press Desk:   Bangladesh A women’s team captain Fahima Khatun and all-rounder Lata Mondal expressed their delight after they progressed to the semi-finals of the Asia Cup Rising Stars T20 following a three-wicket win over hosts Thailand in Bangkok on Monday.

Chasing 104, Bangladesh A needed 12 runs off the final over and Farjana Easmin came to their rescue, hammering a four and a six on the second and third delivery. Although she departed for a 15-ball 23, Bangladesh A eventually reached their destination with one ball to spare.

In pursuit of the lowly target, the visiting side were in early trouble at 11-3 following the dismissals of Ishma Tanjim (six), Sharmin Sultana (one) and Rubya Haider (one).

Opener Shamima Sultana (26) and Lata (30) then did the recovery work adding 43 runs for the fourth wicket to bring Bangladesh A back into the game. Skipper Fahima chipped in with 12 before Easmin’s late fireworks inspired Bangladesh A to victory.

"Alhamdulillah, we managed to win the match today. To be honest, at one point it felt like the game was getting really tough. In the end, we were able to pull off the win, Alhamdulillah. With this victory, we've secured our spot in the semi-finals. The whole team is very happy about that. Moving forward, I hope our next matches aren't quite this close, and I look forward to us playing even better," said Fahima after the game.

Earlier, batting first, Thailand posted 103-9 riding on wicketkeeper-batter Nannapat Koncharoenkai (34) and opener Natthakan Chantham (24).

Fahima finished with brilliant figures of 2-16 from her four overs while off-spinner Shorifa Khatun picked up 2-14. Fariha Trisna (1-5), Sanjida Akter Meghla (1-13) and Jannatul Ferdus (1-12) also came up with economical spells.

Bangladesh A now top Group B with maximum four points, ahead of Sri Lanka A and Thailand on two points each.

The Tigresses will face the already eliminated Malaysians in their last group stage match on Wednesday while the Lankans and the Thai women will take on each other to determine the other semi-finalist from this pool.

Lata also praised what was a thorough team performance and urged the fans back home to keep the Tigresses in their prayers.

“We had our second match; after winning it, we confirmed our spot in the semi-finals. Everyone, please pray for us. Everyone in the team is performing reasonably well—someone or the other is contributing, which is why we are winning the matches. Keep us in your prayers so that our upcoming matches also end in wins like this,” said Lata. Source: daily Sun

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