Pakistan Vs Bangladesh, ICC Women’s WC Qualifier 2025: How Did BAN-W Secure Qualification Despite Final-Day Loss To PAK-W?

Bangladesh secured qualification for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 through the tournament’s Qualifier, despite a final-day defeat to Pakistan on Saturday, 19 April, and a narrow miss in direct qualification via the ICC Women’s Championship. (Highlights | More Cricket News)

In the ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25, Bangladesh finished with 21 points from 24 matches, the same as New Zealand. However, the White Ferns edged ahead due to a superior net run rate, clinching the sixth and final direct qualification spot.

Consequently, Bangladesh had to participate in the World Cup Qualifier – also featuring West Indies, Pakistan, Ireland, Scotland, and Thailand – to vie for one of the remaining two spots.

How Did Bangladesh’s ICC Women’s WC Qualifier 2025 Go?

The Bangladesh Women’s team, led by Nigar Sultana, made a fine start to the Qualifier round. They had a massive 178-run win over Thailand in the first match, following it up with a two-wicket victory over Ireland.

After securing their third win against Scotland, they suffered back-to-back defeats against West Indies and Pakistan.

However, their strong performances in the first three games gave them a healthy Net Run Rate advantage. This proved crucial as Windies, their closest competitors, needed to chase down a target of 167 against Thailand in just 10.1 overs to surpass Bangladesh’s net run rate.

Despite a valiant performance from Hayley Matthews, securing her team a six-wicket win, West Indies achieved the target in 10.5 overs, falling short of the required rate. As a result, BAN-W finished with a marginally better NRR – just 0.013 – going through to the main event.

Which Teams Qualified For ICC Women’s World Cup 2025?

The final standings of the Qualifier saw Pakistan and Bangladesh occupying the top two positions, thereby earning their spots in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025.

They joined the six teams that had already qualified directly: Australia, England, India (hosts), New Zealand, South Africa, and Sri Lanka.

The ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 is scheduled to start on 29 September, with the final set for 26 October. While India will host the majority of the matches, games involving Pakistan will be held at a neutral venue, as per an agreement between the ICC, PCB, and BCCI.