Tigresses down-under at Southampton

Bangladesh and Pakistan meet at the Rose Bowl on Saturday in a match carrying near-knockout stakes for both sides after contrasting wobbles in their second outings at the 2026 ICC Women's T20 World Cup.

The Tigresses lost to Australia by nine wickets in their second game after a winning start against the Netherlands, while Pakistan fell to South Africa by two wickets — their second defeat of the tournament after being routed by India.

Both teams arrive at this fixture knowing that another loss likely ends their semi-final hopes.

Captain Nigar Sultana Joty struck a defiant tone ahead of the contest, pointing to Bangladesh's strong record against Pakistan.

"Whenever we play against Pakistan, we try to play good cricket, and our winning percentage against them is relatively high," she said.

"Batting responsibly is going to be very important for us now," she added.

Joty admitted her top-order's slow start hurt the side against Australia.

"If you fail to put enough runs on the board during the first six overs, it creates pressure on the entire team," she said.

The Bangladesh skipper wants a repeat of the Dutch game, where the batters showed they have the ability to bounce back.

“Look, I would say that our resources are somewhat limited. It's not that we don't have pacers, but the number of quality pace bowlers is quite low,” she added when asked about the bowling unit.

Perhaps that will not be the talk of this game as Southampton is famous for its slow and sluggish tracks.