Bangladesh batter Sharmin Akhter Supta made a triumphant return to the Bangladesh national team, scoring a career-best 96 off 89 balls in the Tigresses' record 154-run victory over Ireland in the first of three ODIs in Mirpur on Wednesday. Supta narrowly missed becoming only the second Bangladeshi woman to score an ODI century, after Fargana Hoque, as she was caught at mid-off while accelerating the scoring rate in the latter stages of the innings.
Playing her first international match since July 2023, Supta also experienced cramps while fielding, forcing her to leave the ground. After the match, the 28-year-old batter discussed her comeback, preparation, and match-winning performance.
Reflecting on her career-best knock, Supta expressed her delight at making a strong comeback at the same venue where she last played against India. She credited the confidence gained from decent scores in practice matches leading up to the Ireland series for her performance.
Supta, who returned to the national squad after 16 months, shared that she had been preparing individually for a long time. Despite a disappointing performance in the Women's Dhaka Premier League, she found form in the NCL T20, which helped her refine her practice.
When asked about missing out on her maiden ODI hundred, which could have been the fastest by a Bangladeshi woman, Supta remarked that scoring a century involves a bit of luck. Her primary focus was on pushing the team total beyond 250, which she believed would give the bowlers a comfortable margin to defend. She praised the bowlers for their excellent performance, noting that the wicket was good but could have been challenging if Ireland's key batters had capitalised.
Looking ahead to the remaining matches in the series, Supta emphasised the importance of playing according to the team's needs and expressed hope that they would continue to perform well.
