Bangladesh could not have asked for a better start to their ICC Women’s World Cup campaign. Fast bowler Marufa Akter, already making a name as the Tigresses’ firebrand, pegged Pakistan on the backfoot from the onset at Colombo’s R Premadasa Stadium on Thursday.

From sharing a dressing room and exchanging tips, friends Nigar Sultana Joty and Fatima Sana go head-to-head as captains at an ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup.

Once again, Bangladeshi cricket lovers fell under the spell of supporting the Tigers -- creatures whose body stripes were, some say, stitched by He Who Shall Not Be Named.

This is the first time in 17 editions that the Asia Cup will see an India-Pakistan final.

Bangladesh captain Liton Das was seen holding an ice bag in his hand as he stepped off the team bus and entered the ground ahead of their final Asia Cup T20 Super Four fixture against Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

Two-time champions Bangladesh will face the winners of the other semifinal between India and Nepal, scheduled for later this evening, in the title decider on September 27.

In his signature no-filter style, former Pakistan batter Basit Ali fired shots at Bangladesh’s tame showing in the third and final T20I in Mirpur, where the hosts were thrashed by 74 runs despite having already sealed the series 2–1.

The Tigers suffer from megalophobia -- they fear large targets.

Bangladesh captain Litton Das won the toss and opted to bowl first in the third and final T20I of the three-match series against Pakistan in Mirpur on Thursday.

Jaker Ali’s 48-ball 55 proved to be a match-winning knock for Bangladesh in their eight-run victory over Pakistan in the second T20I at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur yesterday, and the right-handed batter later revealed that he had gone out to bat with a specific message from skipper Litton Das.

A brilliant fast-bowling display and some power-hitting from Jaker Ali saw Bangladesh win the second T20I by eight runs and clinch the three-match series 2-0 with a game in hand, despite a nervy ending that threatened a comeback for Pakistan at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.  

Several fans expressed dismay at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Tuesday after discovering that food and water brought from outside was no longer permitted inside the venue -- a reversal of the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) earlier decision that had allowed it for just one match.

Middle-order batter Jaker Ali scored his fourth T20I fifty and left-arm pacer Shoriful Islam notched up his career-best figures as Bangladesh clinched a thrilling win in the second T20I of the three-match series against Pakistan in Mirpur and sealed the series with a 2-0 lead. 

Mustafizur Rahman came up with his most economic spell ever in T20Is in his return to the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur, setting the stage for a seven-wicket win for Bangladesh over Pakistan in the first of three T20Is. However, after the game, varying opinions on the pitch grabbed more attention.

Bangladesh won the first of their three T20Is against Pakistan in convincing fashion, clinching a seven-wicket win with 27 balls to spare on Sunday, and it was the contrasting views regarding the surface at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium that drew the most attention at the post-match press conference.

Bangladesh captain Litton Das admitted that his side's knowledge and familiarity with the wicket at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur played a key factor in their commanding seven-wicket win over Pakistan in the first T20I of the three-match series on Sunday.

A packet of snacks in one hand, a bottle of water in the other -- at the gates of Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium today ahead of Bangladesh’s first T20I against Pakistan, the scene felt less like a new change and more like the return of a beloved old memory.

Emon's notched up his second half-century in the format, an unbeaten 39-ball 56, featuring five sixes and three fours to guide his side to victory with 27 balls to spare. 

Bangladesh are set to take on Pakistan in a three-match T20I series, starting with the first game at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Sunday at 6pm.

The Bangladesh squad arrived in the country on Thursday following their 2-1 T20I series triumph against Sri Lanka on Wednesday. The Tigers, however, have little time to adjust to home conditions, with Pakistan already having arrived in Dhaka on Wednesday to play a three-match T20I series.