Bangladesh, Pakistan win Women's T20 World Cup openers

Bangladesh ended a 10-year wait to win a Women's T20 World Cup match on Thursday as Pakistan warmed up for a mouthwatering clash with India by defeating Asian champions Sri Lanka.

On the opening day of the 2024 tournament, Bangladesh secured a 16-run win over Scotland after posting what appeared to be a flimsy 119-7 in their 20 overs.

Their bowling attack, however, tied the Scots down and restricted them to 103-7.

Later, Pakistan, who have never made it out of the group stages in eight previous attempts, beat Sri Lanka by 31 runs.

Pakistan made 116 in their 20 overs before restricting Sri Lanka to 85-9.

Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana Joty described ending her team's long wait for a World Cup win as "very emotional" and suggested it would create "momentum" for the women's game at home.

"I would say that a win after 10 years, we all are very emotional because we have been waiting for this victory for a long time," said Joty who was playing in her 100th T20I.

"No matter how good the cricket we play, if it doesn't translate into victory, it means nothing. And I would say for women's cricket, after a long time, I feel like we have done something.

"We have always said about Bangladesh that we have to create momentum and then we will move forward with that momentum.

"Now it seems like we are going to dream of doing something bigger. Similarly, the fans and family who support us in Bangladesh are dreaming that we can do something better than that."

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

Instead, weeks of widespread political unrest in Bangladesh, which eventually led to the installation of an interim government, saw the tournament switched to the