Captain Gaby Lewis scored an impressive 73 in a tight chase and Amy Hunter received 100th cap for her country across formats – however, Ireland suffered their first defeat of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier in Nepal with today a nine-run loss to Bangladesh.
Having lost the toss, Ireland began well with the wicket of Juairiya Ferdous in the third over from the bowling of Alana Dalzell and an excellent catch by Arlene Kelly who tracked back from mid on.
The fielding side then had to work a bit harder for their second wicket with Lara McBride eventually getting the breakthrough in the 12th over when the off-spinner had Dilara Akter bowled after the batter overbalanced.
From there Ireland found it much easier to chip away at the Bangladeshi middle order.
A clear highlight was the stumping of Sharmin Akhter by Hunter in the 17th over off the bowling of Kelly from a wide delivery outside off.
After that smart stumping, Hunter then pulled off a remarkable catch down the legside off the bowling of Orla Prendergast next over to really show her impeccable footwork behind the stumps.
Ireland's bowlers eventually managed to keep Bangladesh to 154, however, it had looked previously like they might possibly be able to keep their opponents to under 145.
█▓▒▒░░░MATCH UPDATE░░░▒▒▓█
— Cricket Ireland (@cricketireland) January 24, 2026
The chase is on...
▪️Bangladesh 153-7 (20 overs)
▪️Ireland 16-0 (2 overs)
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Both Lewis and Hunter started the chase positively, in particular using their feet to spin and hitting well down the ground. But in the eighth over, Hunter experienced difficulty with her hamstring and retired hurt.
Lewis continued her good work now with Prendergast at the crease but the quick wickets of Prendergast and then Leah Paul through an unfortunate stumping halted Ireland's progress.
With Laura Delany now with her captain, the chasing side looked to up their rate of scoring.
However, the eventual dismissals of Delany, along with Lewis for a brilliant 73, began to bring Bangladesh back from the brink.
They were very soon left with 20 runs needed from six balls as Rebecca Stokell was partnered with Hunter who returned to the crease.
The opener managed to find the boundary, but Bangladesh eventually got over the line to give Ireland their first loss of the Global Qualifier tournament in Nepal.
Ireland next play Namibia on Monday, 26 January 2026.
