Tigresses eye winning return against Pakistan

Bangladesh will draw confidence from their recent success against Pakistan in white-ball cricket when they face their South Asian rivals in a crucial Group A encounter of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup at The Rose Bowl in Southampton on Saturday.

The Tigresses have enjoyed the upper hand against Pakistan in recent years across both T20I and ODI formats. Bangladesh have won three of their last five WT20Is against Pakistan, including a 2-1 home series victory in 2023.

Their record in the 50-over format is equally impressive, with Bangladesh winning four of the last six ODIs between the sides. Those victories include wins in the 2022 and 2025 World Cups, as well as a 2-1 series triumph in 2023.

Bangladesh also head into the contest in a better position than Pakistan in the tournament standings. Nigar Sultana Joty's side opened their campaign with a six-wicket victory over the Netherlands before suffering a nine-wicket defeat to Australia. Pakistan, meanwhile, are still searching for their first win after losing to India and South Africa in their opening two matches.

"First of all, whenever we play against Pakistan, we try to play good cricket, and our winning percentage against them is relatively high. From that perspective, I would say that batting responsibly is going to be very important for us," Bangladesh captain Joty told reporters at the pre-match press conference on Friday.

"We will be playing at a new venue, so adapting to the wicket will also be a factor. But given our strong record against them, if we want to bounce back as a team, staying positive will be extremely important," she added.

The Bangladesh skipper also highlighted the importance of making the most of the powerplay, believing it could play a decisive role against a Pakistan side desperate to revive their campaign.

"I believe scoring runs in the powerplay is extremely important, whether you're batting first or chasing. It is a very important phase of the game because if you fail to put enough runs on the board during the first six overs, it creates pressure on the entire team. Those lost runs are often very difficult to make up for later in the innings," she said.

Joty acknowledged that Pakistan would also be eager to respond after their poor start to the tournament.

"They will want to bounce back as well, but we hope we can execute our game plan. If every player contributes, we make fewer mistakes, and especially if our top-order batters score runs in the powerplay, then we will definitely have a chance," she added.

The match is scheduled to begin at 7:30 pm (Bangladesh time) and will be broadcast live on Star Sports Network.

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