Women seal T20 qualifiers title

Amidst the disappointing performances from the men's team, the Bangladesh women's cricket team continued to shine bright as Salma Khatun and Co. clinched the ICC Women's World T20 Qualifiers title beating Ireland by 25 runs in the final at the Kampong Cricket Club ground in Netherlands yesterday.

Panna Ghosh led the Tigresses' defence of 123 runs, picking up her maiden five-wicket haul in the shortest format of the game to bundle out Ireland for 97 runs in 18.4 overs.

The tall medium pacer conceded just 16 runs in her four overs while Nahida Akter and Rumana Ahmed took two wickets each for Bangladesh.

Having already secured a spot in the upcoming ICC Women's World T20 in West Indies, Bangladesh proved their worth as the best team of the qualifiers defending such a modest total.

Bangladesh had posted 122 for 9 in 20 overs after being sent in to bat, with opener Ayasha Rahman top-scoring with 46 off 42 balls, her innings featuring five fours and two sixes.

However, none of the other Bangladeshi batter was able to contribute significantly as Fargana Hoque's 17 was the second highest score. The Tigresses kept losing wickets at regular intervals, making things at bit tight towards the end of their innings.

Lucy O'Reilly was the pick of the bowlers for Ireland, bagging four wickets while leg-spinner Ciara Metcalfe took two wickets.