For the first time in their history, the Bangladesh cricket team have reached the Women’s Twenty20 Asia Cup final as they beat Malaysia to win four games on the trot.

No-one expected the Tigresses to reach the final of the tournament but they did it – and in the greatest of fashions. The Tigresses roared to the finals and on the way, pounced on Pakistan and India with their sharp fangs.

They dared to dream and now they are going to live it.

After beating Pakistan, India and Thailand on the trot, all they had to do was to beat Malaysia in order to reach the final.

Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Bangladesh posted a score of 130 in their 20 overs and lost only four wickets in the process. Shamima Sultana top scored with 43 runs from 54 balls while Fahima Khatun’s 12-ball blast added 26 runs more to the board.

In response, the Bangladesh bowlers totally chocked the life out of the Malaysian batters and restricted them to a puny score of 60 runs from 20 overs with the loss of 9 wickets.

Rumana Ahmed – you just can’t keep her out, can you? – was the pick of the bowlers as she took three wickets from her four overs and gave away only 9 runs.

So good was the Tigresses bowling prowess that only three Malaysian batswomen – Yusrina Yaakop, Mas Elysa and captain Winifred Duraisingam, who top scored with 17 from 35 balls – could reach double figures.

With this, Bangladesh enter the final of the Women’s Twenty20 Asia Cup where they will lock horns with India on Sunday.

Scores

Bangladesh – 130/4 after 20 overs

Shamima Sultana – 43 (54) | Winifred Duraisingam – 4-0-19-2