Bangladesh hoping to inspire next generation in remaining matches

Captain Nigar Sultana is urging her side to forget their historic victory against Pakistan ahead of their first ever meeting against West Indies

Whatever happens in the remainder of the tournament, this Bangladesh side will depart New Zealand with their place in history secured.

After losing their opening two matches against South Africa and New Zealand, Nigar Sultana’s side clung on in Hamilton to defeat Pakistan by nine runs and record their country’s first win at a World Cup.

However, the skipper is urging her side to forget their historic victory ahead of Bangladesh’s clash with West Indies in Mount Maunganui.

"It was a fantastic match and a great pleasure to get out first World Cup win," she said. "Obviously, back home there was a lot of support and they are all super excited.

"But we have already forgotten the Pakistan match because we are only focusing on West Indies. We had a plan from the beginning that we would go ahead match by match. We’ve got good momentum and we’ve won a match, so we are more excited to do better.

^{Bangladesh celebrate their win over Pakistan [Michael Bradley/Getty Images]}

"We know that if we do well here, it will be very good for our cricket and it will be very good for inspiring for the next generation in the future."

Friday’s match marks the first meeting between Bangladesh and West Indies in an ODI. West Indies have been one of the surprise packages in New Zealand, upsetting the hosts and England to throw the competition wide open, and have a trio of global superstars in Deandra Dottin, Stafanie Taylor and Hayley Matthews.

Sultana, however, is unfazed by her opponents, believing her side can use the element of surprise to their advantage: "They don’t know us, and we don’t know them, so this is going to be advantageous because they don’t know how we play.

"We have never played West Indies, but we have watched their matches almost all the time. The bowlers are planning against their batters, the batters are planning against their bowlers. They may be very confident in power cricket, but I think with the strength of our bowlers, if we can play our best cricket, the result will come."

And speaking of Bangladesh’s bowlers, spin trio Salma Khatun, Fahima Khatun and Rumana Ahmed will be among the players to watch after making an impression against Pakistan. Salma Khatun was highly economical, conceding just one boundary in nine overs, while Fahima Khatun and Rumana Ahmed picked up five wickets combined.

As for West Indies, they are looking to reignite their top-four ambitions following back-to-back defeats against India and Australia, results which Shamilia Connell isn’t losing too much sleep over.

^{Shamilia Connell (right) [Marty Melville/Getty Images]}

"Before we played our first couple of games, we knew our four games upfront were going to be difficult and if we snatch two wins, that will put us in a good position going into the last three," she said.

"We have done that, so we just have to continue to play [well] and hopefully see ourselves into the semi-finals. We’ve lost two games but what’s gone is gone. We just have to look to bring our A game in these next three games."

Mount Maunganui is a happy hunting ground for the Caribbean side, with their three-run victory over New Zealand in the tournament opener coming at the same venue. However, as seasoned upset-causers themselves, they know that Friday’s game will be no walk in the park.

"We can see they’re very competitive," said Connell. "We’re just going to go there and give our best and not underestimate them. They put up some very good scores and they beat Pakistan who were one of the teams that was looking to give them a challenge. But we’re just going to stick to our game. We’re not going to dwell on what they’re doing."

West Indies have a full strength squad to select from, with Dottin appearing to have recovered from the back problems which plagued her performance against India.