International Cricket

BD-W vs SL-W 2nd T20I Sylhet: Nigar Sultana Anchor Recap

Karthik Menon 19 May 2026 Updated 19 May 2026 ~5 min read ~803 words

Nigar Sultana batting for Bangladesh Women at Sylhet Stadium

Share this article

Nigar Sultana's 51 off 49 balls anchored Bangladesh Women's second T20I against Sri Lanka Women at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium. The slow Sylhet surface, the gripping spinners, and the small boundary on the long-on side combined to create a 145-target game that hinged on the anchor knock through the middle overs. Bangladesh Women won by 12 runs to level the series at 1-1, and Nigar's template knock is the talking point. Here is the recap.

Nigar's innings shape

Nigar Sultana came in at the fall of Murshida Khatun in the third over with Bangladesh on 14 for 1. Her first 15 balls produced 8 runs as she played herself in against the SL-W new-ball pair of Inoka Ranaweera and Achini Kulasuriya. The strike rotation phase opened in the seventh over, and Nigar used the depth of the crease to score in the V against the off-spin of Sugandika Kumari. The 50 came up in the 18th over off 47 balls. She finished on 51 off 49 with 4 boundaries and a strike rate of 104, the kind of platform innings that wins T20Is on slow surfaces.

The pace-vs-spin split

Nigar's pace-vs-spin split in the innings was instructive. Against the SL-W seam attack (11 balls), she scored 14 runs at a strike rate of 127. Against the spin attack (38 balls), she scored 37 at a strike rate of 97. The spin pair of Inoka Ranaweera (left-arm orthodox) and Sugandika Kumari (off-spin) was the dominant phase of the innings, and Nigar's ability to rotate strike at a 97 strike rate without taking on a single false shot is the platform piece. Her dismissal came in the 18th over, holing out to long-on after the launch shot lifted on her.

SL-W's bowling change pattern

SL-W's bowling change pattern was the tactical signal that allowed Nigar to settle. Captain Chamari Athapaththu held both new-ball seamers for the death, accepting the middle-overs spin pair as the squeeze unit. The economy of 6.4 runs per over across the spin pair was below par but not low enough to break Nigar's strike rotation. Athapaththu may have brought one of the seamers back in the 13th or 14th over rather than the 17th; the delay gave Nigar one extra over to set up the death-overs platform that Sobhana Mostary's 24 off 19 then exploited.

BD-W's total and the bowling

Bangladesh Women finished on 144 for 6 from 20 overs, with the late-innings tempo from Mostary and Lata Mondal lifting the total above the par for Sylhet. The defending plan was to bowl spin early and pace late, the inverse of SL-W's plan. Fahima Khatun's leg-spin returned 2 for 21 from her 4 overs, including the wicket of Athapaththu in the seventh over. Marufa Akter's seam death-overs spell of 3 for 28 from 4 overs sealed the chase, with SL-W's lower middle order falling to slower-ball cutters and yorker variations.

Sri Lanka Women's chase

SL-W's chase was built around Chamari Athapaththu's 31 off 28 at the top, but her dismissal in the seventh over started a familiar collapse. The middle overs from Anushka Sanjeewani (19 off 22) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (24 off 23) kept the chase alive, but the asking rate climbed to 12 plus from the 17th over onwards. SL-W finished on 132 for 8, falling 12 runs short of the target. The 12-run margin felt larger than it sounds because BD-W's lower order and bowlers were never in genuine pressure.

What it means

Nigar Sultana's 51 confirms her role as Bangladesh Women's senior anchor across formats. Her pace-vs-spin split makes her ideal for the slow Asian surfaces that dominate the BD-W calendar. SL-W's bowling change pattern needs adjusting for the third T20I, and Athapaththu's captaincy decision around when to use the seam variations is the key lesson. The series is tied 1-1 with the decider in Mirpur. The BD-W middle order has a clearer template now thanks to Nigar.

BD-W vs SL-W 2nd T20I Sylhet: Nigar Sultana Anchor Recap

Related Articles