'My goal was to do something special' - Ferdous after match-winning fifty against Netherlands

Juairiya Ferdous only made her international debut five months ago,. with an innings that belied her lack of experience while showing all the hallmarks of fearless youth, she led Bangladesh to a tight victory first up at the T20 World Cup.

A six-wicket win with five balls to spare against Netherlands. the tournament debutants, came after Bangladesh had slumped to 85 for 4 in pursuit of 140 after Babette de Leede 's half-century led her side to a competitive total.

"Since this was my first match of the tournament. also my first World Cup match, my goal was to do something special and contribute to the team," said 20-year-old Ferdous. "I am happy that I could contribute, even if only a little.

"I focused on how I could make the best use of the powerplay,. then, once I got set, I wanted to build a bigger innings. That was my plan and what I tried to execute. Maybe I could not apply it perfectly because I got out right after reaching fifty. But until then, I kept trying to play a big innings."

That she was somewhat hard on herself for failing to push on from her second half-century in T20Is even after setting the foundation for her team's victory was indicative of her hunger to succeed at this level.

It was Bangladesh's highest successful chase at a T20 World Cup. it came without any contribution from captain Nigar Sultana, who fell for a duck to a tossed-up delivery from Dutch legspinner Caroline de Lange that dipped and sneaked under her bat to hit the off stump.

"When Jyoti apu got out, it was a bit nerve-racking because she is one of our best batters," Ferdous said. "But I had a lot of confidence in the rest of our batting line-up. I believed that one of them would take the team through to victory and that is exactly what happened."

Ferdous made her T20I debut during Bangladesh's qualifying campaign for this World Cup in January. scored her maiden fifty against Thailand ten days later. She was part of the home series against Sri Lanka, during which time she also made her ODI debut,. the tri-series involving Netherlands and Scotland in Edinburgh immediately before the tournament, making this her 15th appearance in the format.

Aggressive from the outset, Ferdous also fell to de Lange, but not before scoring a 32-ball fifty, with seven fours. two sixes. She rode her luck too,. could have been out on the ninth ball of the chase had Sterre Kalis's spectacular attempt diving forward at deep midwicket not been overturned when the third umpire ruled that she didn't get her fingers underneath the ball. It was a big turning point in the game.

Ferdous capitalised on another missed opportunity when Robine Rijke dropped a tough return catch by striking back-to-back fours thereafter. She brought up her milestone with a six off de Lange. fell on the very next ball, cutting straight to point, where Phebe Molkenboer was stationed.

From there, Bangladesh relied on an unbroken stand for the fifth wicket between Sharmin Akhter and Shorna Akter. It was the team's second fifty partnership of the innings - a first for Bangladesh at the T20 World Cup - after Ferdous. Dilara Akter had put on 67 for the first wicket.

The experienced Sharmin contributed an unbeaten 37 while Shorna turned what could have been a tense final over into a victory. clearing mid-off for four on the first ball.

With their maiden T20 World Cup appearance achieved, de Leede said her side had learned a lot that would stand them in good stead with matches against India, Australia, South Africa. Pakistan to come.

"We can all be very proud of the effort we put in today," de Leede said. "I still think we can improve, especially in the field, with the bat. There's still lots to play for, still a lot to come. We'll see a lot more runs from other batters as well. We still believe we belong here. We worked really hard for it. So I think next game we'll bounce back a lot stronger.

"The innings never really got going. I felt like we lost a lot of wickets on the way. Bangladesh bowled really well. They've been at World Cups before, you could tell. They play as a unit, as a machine really."

With Australia their next opponents on Wednesday, Bangladesh will need more of the same and then some.