Despite a narrow defeat to England in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025, Bangladesh all-rounder Fahima Khatun has issued a strong statement of intent, asserting that her side is no longer an underdog in international cricket.
Speaking after the four-wicket loss, which saw Bangladesh push the tournament favourites to the brink, Fahima emphasised the team’s growing self-belief.
“We were desperate to take Heather Knight’s wicket. Had we dismissed her at that point, the match could have swung in our favour,” she said.
England’s veteran skipper guided her team home with a composed unbeaten 79 off 111 deliveries, anchoring the chase after Bangladesh had reduced the visitors to 78 for 5 in 23 overs.
Knight’s intelligent batting under pressure proved decisive, aided by useful contributions from Alice Capsey (20) and Charlie Dean (27*), who saw England through with four overs to spare.
Yet Bangladesh’s spirited performance has done little to dent their confidence. With one win and one loss, the Tigresses currently sit fourth in the group standings and remain firmly in contention for a semi-final berth.
“We started the tournament really well with a big win over Pakistan, and we were very confident going into this match,” said Fahima.
“We probably fell 20-30 runs short today, but if we can maintain this rhythm, no team will find us easy to beat. We haven’t come here just to play good cricket — we’ve come to win the World Cup. We will not overestimate any opponent, nor underestimate ourselves. We’ll give our best on the day, and the results will follow,” she added.
Fahima was the standout performer with the ball, returning figures of 3 for 16 in 10 overs, as Bangladesh defended a modest total of 178 with remarkable discipline. Her spell reinforced belief within the camp that the game was still theirs to win.
“We always believed our score was defendable because we have faith in our bowling unit,” she added. “The team management supported us fully, and that inspired us. Charlie Dean deserves credit — she played very well. Even with 16 runs needed, I kept telling the team that if we could produce four magical deliveries, we could still win. In cricket, anything can happen at any moment.”
Bangladesh, however, suffered a setback during the match as opening bowler Marufa Akter — player of the match in the victory over Pakistan — was forced to leave the field with cramps after bowling just five overs.
“Marufa was struggling with some cramping,” Fahima confirmed. “I think she’s doing better now, but we really missed her. Had she been able to bowl another two or three overs, the result could have been very different.”
Bangladesh will next face New Zealand on Friday. The White Ferns are yet to register a win in the tournament.
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