Fielding Lapses and Dew Cost Bangladesh in Nail-Biting Loss to South Africa
Bangladesh's hopes of a crucial win at the Women's ODI World Cup were dashed by fielding lapses and challenging dew conditions, as they fell to a narrow three-wicket defeat against South Africa in Visakhapatnam.
After reducing the Proteas to 78 for 5 in pursuit of a competitive 232, Bangladesh appeared on course for a memorable victory. However, three dropped catches — two during the tense closing stages — allowed South Africa to escape with the win. All-rounder Nadine de Klerk once again proved to be the match-winner, finishing the game with a boundary and a six in the final over, just as she had in the previous match.
Costly Misses Under Pressure
Bangladesh’s captain Nigar Sultana admitted that the fielding errors were pivotal, though she praised her team's fighting spirit.
“It was very difficult,” Nigar said in the post-match press conference. “The pressure was on, and it was hard for bowlers to grip the wet ball, and the fielders struggled too. Still, we needed to keep our nerves calm. Maybe if we held those catches, the result would have been different.”
The first key miss came early in the chase, when Rabeya Khan dropped a return catch offered by South Africa skipper Laura Wolvaardt on 11. Wolvaardt went on to score 31, anchoring the middle order. But the more damaging drops occurred at the death.
Sumaiya Akter, on as a substitute, put down a chance from Chloe Tryon at wide long-on when she was on 50, with 37 still needed from 36 balls. Then, with South Africa needing nine runs off eight deliveries, Shorna Akter dropped a sitter at long-off to give de Klerk a lifeline. Rabeya, the bowler, reacted in visible frustration, and de Klerk promptly sealed the game in the next over.
Dew and Bowling at the Death
Nigar also highlighted the impact of dew in the second innings, which made it hard for bowlers to maintain control.
“Gripping the ball was quite difficult, there was dew around,” she explained. “The ball was wet. I tried to use our best bowlers at the death. Sometimes it is hard to hold on to the momentum, but we learned a lot today, which we can use in the future.”
Bangladesh’s bowlers, who had been reliable throughout the tournament, struggled with line and length in the final overs, frequently delivering full tosses and balls in the hitting arc of South African batters.
Questionable Call at the Toss
Despite the likelihood of dew, Bangladesh chose to bat first after winning the toss — a decision that came under scrutiny. Nigar defended the choice, citing past failures while chasing and confidence in her bowling attack.
“Chasing wasn’t working for us. In the last game, our batters couldn’t score runs in the powerplay. We wanted to put pressure on them [South Africa] with our bowling strength and a bit of runs behind them.”
Bangladesh’s Inconsistent Batting
The batting performance was an improvement over their previous outing, where they were bowled out for 128 chasing 228 against New Zealand. This time, they posted 232, thanks to a late flourish from 18-year-old Shorna Akter, who scored an unbeaten 51 off 35 balls after coming in during the 41st over.
However, Nigar admitted the team fell short of their target by 15-20 runs.
“We could have scored those runs had our top order rotated the strike more. We could have given better effort in the fielding. We shouldn’t be disappointed or heartbroken.”
Despite two close losses against strong opponents — England and South Africa — Bangladesh have shown promise in patches but will need to execute better under pressure as the tournament progresses.
Match Summary
Women's ODI World Cup 2025 – Visakhapatnam
Bangladesh: 232/6 (50 overs)
South Africa: 235/7 (49.2 overs)
Result: South Africa won by 3 wickets