Tigresses face acid test in bid to change their fortune

Bangladesh team have taken arguably their best-ever preparation ahead of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup in the UAE, starting on October 3, with a good number of international fixtures, a domestic T20 tournament and long training camps, highlighting the ambition of achieving success in the global meet.

It will, however, be interesting to see whether they can actually reap the benefits of the build-up and showcase their 'A' game in the 10-team event, the ninth edition of which will get underway with the Bangladesh-Scotland encounter in Sharjah.

Except for the Asia Cup triumph in 2018, the Tigresses have yet to achieve any significant success in either white-ball formats of cricket, even though they have beaten a few big teams here and there in bilateral series.

On the global stage, though, the Tigresses have failed miserably, having the lowest win percentage (9.52) in T20 World Cups among teams that have played at least 20 matches.

Another unwanted record is looming for the Tigresses,  that of the longest losing streak in T20 World Cups, currently held by Ireland (17), with Bangladesh only one defeat behind – a losing streak dating back to 2016 T20 World Cup. Hence the fear of another World Cup debacle this year isn't completely baseless.

The Tigresses, ranked ninth in WT20I rankings, are still far behind in showcasing fight against most of the teams due to their lack of batting technique, insufficient power-hitting ability and over-reliance on skipper Nigar Sultana Joty.

Another big issue is that Bangladesh haven't played enough against big teams, especially against two of their group mates, England and the West Indies. Bangladesh have met these two teams on only three occasions each – all of those in the 2014, 2016 and 2018 T20 World Cups, losing on all six occasions.

There are a few silver linings for the Tigresses though.

Bowling department, especially the spin-department, looks solid with a number of quality spinners like Nahida Akter, Fahima Khatun and Rabeya Khan regularly performing.

Last year, Bangladesh tasted a maiden T20I victory against South Africa – their other group opposition – that too at their own backyard and eventually drew the three-match series 1-1.

There is a good blend of youth and experience in the side and if they can make good use of that combination in the field, Joty's semifinal blueprint can become a reality.

"To play in the semifinals, we will have to win against three teams. We have different plans for each team. If we can execute our gameplan, then it will be better for us. We have defeated South Africa in T20Is. We rarely meet England, only in World Cups, so it might be difficult for them too," Joty had said in a press meet in Mirpur on September 24.

But to achieve that lofty target, Joty and Co must end their losing streak first by beating Scotland, otherwise things might only go downhill.