Sports Desk:

Bangladesh Women have secured their spot in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 — by the slimmest of margins.

Despite falling to a seven-wicket defeat against Pakistan in their final group match, the Tigresses managed to cling on to second place in the standings, edging out West Indies on net run rate (NRR) — 0.639 to 0.626 — to clinch the final qualifying spot from the tournament on Saturday.

With qualification no longer in their hands, Bangladesh watched nervously as West Indies took the field against Thailand later in the day.

The Caribbean side, needing to chase down 167 in just 10.3 overs to surpass Bangladesh’s NRR, launched a ferocious counter-attack. Captain Hayley Matthews led the charge with a blistering 70 off 29 balls, supported by Chinelle Henry’s explosive 48 from 17.

The target remained within reach until the very end. When Stafanie Taylor cleared the boundary with a six in the 10.5th over, West Indies sealed victory — but missed qualification by just two deliveries.

As the scoreboard ticked over to 168/4, tears flowed freely from Taylor and her teammates. They had fallen just 0.013 behind Bangladesh’s NRR — a margin that might haunt them for years.

Earlier, Bangladesh’s own performance had left their campaign in jeopardy. Opting to bat first in Sylhet, they stumbled to 178/9, with Ritu Moni (48) and Fahima Khatun (44*) providing late resistance. Pakistan made easy work of the target, chasing it down in 39.4 overs behind Muneeba Ali’s 69 and Aliya Riaz’s unbeaten 52.

With three wins from five matches, Bangladesh and West Indies both ended on six points, but it was decimal digits that determined who moved forward. The Tigresses’ superior consistency earlier in the campaign ultimately proved decisive.