Before leaving for Pakistan to take part in the ICC Women's World Cup Qualifier, Bangladesh skipper Nigar Sultana Joty was asked whether she felt that the hosts and West Indies would be their main challenges in the qualifiers with only two out of the six teams slated to qualify for the main event later this year in India.

Joty's answer was a straightforward one.

"I think except for Pakistan; the condition will be difficult for all the other teams. The weather will also be a factor. If you see the stats, West Indies and Pakistan will be ahead of the other teams. But Ireland are a good side too. Traditionally, Pakistan has batting-friendly surfaces. If you win every match, only then can you qualify," Joty told The Daily Star during an interview.

It didn't take long for Bangladesh skipper's words to come true as on the opening day of the qualifying event yesterday favourites West Indies suffered a shock 11-run defeat to Scotland despite a brilliant all-round display by Hayley Matthews, who struck an unbeaten 114 off 113 balls after scalping 4-56.

Pakistan were also rocked by Ireland in the day's other match but the hosts held their nerves and took the last six Irish wickets for just 26 runs to clinch a 38-run win at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

As Bangladesh are all set to take on Thailand in their tournament opener at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground today, where the West Indies vs Scotland match took place, the Tigresses will surely try not to get complacent as a defeat at any stage of the tournament can be very costly.

The Tigresses won both their warm-up matches against Scotland and Pakistan 'A' but the most satisfying part was the batters having an impressive outing in both games.

In the opening warm-up match against Scotland, Bangladesh chased down a target of 252 runs in 41.3 overs while on Tuesday against Pakistan 'A', they made 276 runs while batting first in the second warm-up game. The women's team had a rest day yesterday.

The match against Thailand will be Bangladesh's first in this format even though the Tigresses enjoy a 7-0 advantage against the Thais in WT20Is.

The match is scheduled to start at 10:30 am (Bangladesh time).