Bangladesh women clinch final world cup spot
The wait is finally over. Bangladesh have secured the last remaining spot in the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup. After a nail-biting day full of drama and suspense, the Bangladesh women’s team officially confirmed their ticket to India.
Earlier in the day, Nigar Sultana’s side had lost their final match to Pakistan, which left their World Cup fate hanging in the balance — completely in the hands of West Indies. And the Caribbean team, playing Thailand five hours later, were gifted an “unfair” advantage. Winning the toss, West Indies opted to field first — clearly aiming to chase down the total quickly and surpass Bangladesh’s net run rate.
Once Thailand were bowled out for 166, West Indies knew exactly what they had to do. To overtake Bangladesh, they needed to chase 167 runs in just 10 overs. If they reached a tied score before that, they could still win by hitting a six in the 11th over. Unbelievably, they almost pulled it off.
Hayley Matthews gave Bangladesh players and fans a serious scare. With an explosive start, she looked all set to crush Bangladesh’s World Cup hopes. As she kept hitting, questions began to swirl: could she break the record for the fastest century in women’s ODIs?
Then came the turning point.
“Matthews fell after scoring 70 off just 29 balls, with West Indies still needing 62 runs from the final 3 overs.”
Though Chinelle Henry smashed 48 from 17 balls with 5 sixes, it wasn’t enough. When captain Stafanie Taylor hit a six on the fifth ball of the 11th over to seal the win, the final calculations were in — West Indies had won the match, but not by enough.
“Bangladesh’s net run rate stood at +0.639, while West Indies finished with +0.626.”
So despite chasing down 168 in 10.5 overs with 4 wickets down, West Indies still “lost” — and Bangladesh, despite back-to-back defeats, emerged victorious.
