Women's World Cup: Fahima Confident Bangladesh Still in Semifinal Race

Bangladesh leg-spinner Fahima Khatun remains confident that her team can still secure a spot in the semifinals of the ongoing ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, despite a challenging run in the group stage.

Speaking at a pre-match press conference on Sunday ahead of Bangladesh’s fifth fixture against Sri Lanka, the 32-year-old said the team continues to believe in its chances.

“We still have a chance. It’s difficult, but I think if we win the last two games, our position will be fine,” Fahima said.

Bangladesh currently sit sixth in the eight-team table, with one win from five matches, earning two points and a net run rate of -0.676. After opening their campaign with a memorable victory over Pakistan, the Tigresses fell to four straight defeats — narrow losses to England and South Africa by four and three wickets respectively, followed by heavy defeats to New Zealand (by 100 runs) and Australia (by 10 wickets).

Despite the setbacks, Bangladesh’s semifinal hopes remain mathematically possible. They must win their remaining matches against Sri Lanka and India while relying on England to beat both India and New Zealand. If New Zealand also overcome India, leaving all three teams level on six points, Bangladesh could qualify based on the number of wins.

“In the last few games we lost, but there were positives. Some of our batters performed really well, though we couldn’t finish the matches against England and South Africa. If one or two more batters step up, I think we’ll be in a much better position,” Fahima added.

Throughout the tournament, Bangladesh have shown flashes of potential, with encouraging individual performances but a lack of overall consistency. Still, the team’s spirit appears undimmed as they prepare for their must-win encounter with Sri Lanka.

“There’s always pressure after defeats, but I’d say we’ve recovered well. We’ve talked things through — what’s gone is gone. We’re focusing on tomorrow’s match, and the team is feeling very confident,” Fahima concluded.