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Rumana Ahmed celebrates after winning the matcg against India. (ICC)
Women’s cricket in India has gained good momentum after their exploits in the World Cup in 2016 — where they lost to England in the final — but T20 is perhaps one format that the Indian girls are yet to get a hang of. On Wednesday, India succumbed to a 7-wicket defeat against the Bangladeshi side in the Women’s Asia Cup, Kuala Lumpur. Having beaten Malaysia and Thailand by comfortable margins in the first two matches, Harmanpreet Kaur & Co. were no match to their Bangladeshi counterparts.
After being set a target of 142, Bangladesh crossed the finish line with two balls to spare. Rumana Ahmed starred for Bangladesh and returned with match figures of 3/21. She also contributed with the bat and made 42 from 34 balls.
After the match Rumana told ESPNcricinfo, “The dream has always been to come close to beating a team like India. That we've beaten them is a reality."
"When we arrived at the team hotel, the Pakistan players congratulated us in the lobby."
"We beat them the other day, and today they were congratulating us for beating India."
This was Bangladesh’s first win against India in women’s cricket across all formats. Without any doubt, this was the most memorable day for Bangladesh vice-captain Rumana.
"It hurts when you have to wait for your chances because you're the ninth-ranked team," Rumana said.
“Teams like India, Pakistan - they're in the top eight and play [ICC Women's Championship] matches all around the year. It's like you're made to feel you're not good enough, but I hope this goes some way towards changing that perception."
Apart from her individual brilliance, this win came on the back of some smart decisions by the team.
"If you see Harmanpreet [Kaur]'s records, she's scored 60-70 against us every other game," Rumana said.
"I remember telling a journalist the other day that I've not played against too many sensible female cricketers like Harman. Most of our bowlers struggle against her because it's difficult to contend with the power in her arms or the way she pierces the gaps. But we made sure we kept rotating our bowlers despite the terrible heat and humidity."
It could have been another fifty for Harmanpreet, but Rumana bowled a brilliant leg-break, that saw the back of the Indian batter.
Rumana also revealed how she strung a partnership with Fargana Hoque (52) to win the match. “When the equation came down to 32 off 24, Fargana and I told each other that we got this. Let's just keep calm and get this done. Just like we did the other day."
The vice-captain acknowledged the contribution of former coach David Capel.
"I think 60-70 % credit of these two wins goes to him. Many of the strategies I used while bowling today were based on David's theories. In the past 18 months, he taught us to envisage a day like today, to believe we can beat big teams. Wherever he is now, I hope he's proud of what we achieved today."
First Published: June 7, 2018, 3:03 PM IST
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