Skipper Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits fired South Africa to a crushing 10-wicket win over the West Indies in their opening match of the Women's T20 World Cup on Friday.

The momentum for women's cricket in Bangladesh would have had a far bigger boost had they been staging the event as planned.

Pakistan produced a superb all-round display to beat Sri Lanka in the second match of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup.

“We have been waiting for this moment for a long time. We had in our minds that this is our moment. Means a lot,” said an emotional Joty, for whom it was more special as it was her 100th T20I match, during a post-match presentation ceremony. 

At 24, she is also the second-youngest woman to achieve this feat, behind Rwanda’s 20-year-old all-rounder Henriette Ishimwe.

Bangladesh opted to bat in the opener of the ninth edition of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup against Scotland at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium today.

“Bangladesh is a crazy nation when it comes to cricket, with the emotion of the sport acting as an incredible tool for unity. If we perform well here, it will definitely have a positive impact on the Bangladeshi people.”

The tournament, which is being held in the United Arab Emirates, gets underway on Wednesday 3 October when host nation Bangladesh face Scotland at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

A huge mark-up in cash rewards has already turned the ninth edition of the tournament into a landmark event in women’s sports in general.

Bangladesh team have taken arguably their best-ever preparation ahead of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in the UAE, starting on October 3, with a good number of international fixtures, a domestic T20 tournament and long training camps, highlighting the ambition of achieving success in the global meet.

New skipper Alyssa Healy faces a challenge in the United Arab Emirates, leading a team that has only failed twice to win the 20-over trophy since the competition was first staged in 2009

Pakistan copped their second defeat ahead of the Women's T20 World Cup, losing to Bangladesh despite being in a dominant position at one point in the game

The 23-match event will feature the top 10 teams, split into two groups of five, competing across two venues: the Dubai International Stadium and the iconic Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

Bangladesh suffered a 33-run defeat against Sri Lanka in their first warm-up match of the Women's T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates today.

Over the last two years, young leg spinner Rabeya Khan has emerged as a permanent member in Bangladesh women’s team squads in white-ball cricket. Consistent performances with the ball and the ability to score runs down the order has earned the 19-year-old the stamp of approval from her skipper Nigar Sultana Joty and head coach Hashan Tillakaratne. Before the team’s departure for the T20 World Cup in the UAE, Rabeya spoke with The Daily Star’s Samsul Arefin Khan where she opened up about her bittersweet journey in cricket and what she hopes to achieve in the upcoming tournament. Here are the excerpts:

A group of 10 umpires and three match referees have been appointed as the Emirates ICC Match Officials to oversee the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024, which will be hosted by Bangladesh in the UAE.

It has been 10 years since Bangladesh national women’s cricket team registered their last victory in the ICC T20 World Cup. The victory came back in 2014 when Bangladesh hosted the marquee tournament and the Tigresses defeated Ireland in a ninth-place play-off match in Sylhet.

The emergence of players like Taj and Disha just before the mega event has come at the expense of veterans in Rumana Ahmed and Salma Khatun.