A dominating win against Thailand was the expected result: Nigar

Despite being a stronger side, Bangladesh lost to Thailand in the ICC Women's World Cup 2022 Qualifier. But the Tigresses avenged that loss in the semi-final of the recently-concluded T20 World Cup Qualifier and now they have beaten them in the Asia Cup. Bangladesh, the defending champions of the Asia Cup, started their campaign like champions. 

"A  dominating win against Thailand was the expected result," said Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana. "The first match of any tournament is important. [A win in the first match] gives the team a lot of confidence."

Bangladesh were given a small target of 83 but their plan seemed different. Opener Shamima Sultana struck 10 boundaries in her quick-fire 49 off 30. Nigar stated that Bangladesh looked to utilise the powerplay.

"Our plan was to utilise the batting powerplay. Shamima [Sultana] apu batted really well. [Fargana Haque] Pinky gave good support. If we batted first, we would have batted like that too. If we can score close to 80 in the first 10 overs, then we can get a good total," she added.

Nigar hailed the bowlers for keeping things tight. "Our bowlers always do well. We wanted to keep [Thailand's total] under 100. We didn't let them score any boundaries inside the powerplay. I must say, the bowlers were excellent," she concluded.