Women's T20 Asia Cup: Bangladesh opt to field against India in first semifinal

Dubai [UAE]: Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana won the toss and opted to field against India in the first semifinal of the Women's T20 Asia Cup at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

India, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, entered the knockout clash unbeaten in the group stage, while Bangladesh secured their place in the semifinals after finishing second in Group B.

Explaining the decision at the toss, the Bangladesh captain said the team wanted their bowlers to make use of the conditions first and aim to restrict India to a low total. Nigar also confirmed that they are playing with the same playing XI.


"We wanted to bowl first, and we wanted to give our bowlers the wicket to work on. We are looking to play good cricket. We have good memories. It could be the last or not the last game, but we want to play and execute well. We are playing the same team. We want to restrict India to a low score," the Bangladesh skipper said.

Harmanpreet said her side was looking to bat first and was happy with the toss result. She also stressed that no team can be taken lightly in the shortest format.

"We thought of batting first. Glad we got it. T20 is such a game that you can't take any team lightly. We are playing the same team. We will see how the powerplay goes and then decide how to go about things in the game," Harmanpreet said during the toss.

Playing XI of both teams:

India Women (Playing XI): Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Pratika Rawal, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Deepti Sharma, Bharti Fulmali, Richa Ghosh(w), Prema Rawat, Shree Charani, Kranti Gaud, NandSharma

Bangladesh Women (Playing XI): Dilara Akter, Juairiya Ferdous, Sobhana Mostary, Nigar Sultana(w/c), Sharmin Akhter, Shorna Akter, Fahima Khatun, Nahida Akter, Rabeya Khan, Sultana Khatun, Marufa Akter.