Trishna inspires despite series loss

Fariha Trishna provided a cause for celebration in the Bangladesh dugout yesterday, even though the Tigresses lost the second and penultimate women's T20I against Australia by 58 runs to concede the series with a match to go.

Trishna became the only Bangladesh women's team cricketer to bag two hattricks in the format after the 21-year-old left-arm pacer picked up the wickets of Ellyse Perry, Sophie Molinuex and Beth Mooney in the last three deliveries of the innings, restricting the visitors to 161 for eight at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.

Trishna, who finished with four wickets, had bagged her first T20I hattrick at the 2022 Asia Cup game against Malaysia in Sylhet, in what was also her debut game.

Australia batter Grace Harris praised the feat by the Bangladesh pacer.

"I'm assuming she's [Trishna] quite young, so she's got a lot of room to improve or to develop her game. But with the new ball, I actually found her a bit more challenging to face because she gets just quite late shape back in," Grace said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

Bangladesh, in reply, ended up on 103 for nine. Trishna was asked if there is regret since her hattrick did not produce a win.

"Yes, obviously [regret is there]. When the team achieves something big, the happiness it brings is bigger. If the team had won, we would have celebrated better," Trishna said at the post-match press conference.

It was not just the hattrick but also how she arrived in this fixture after having been sidelined with a back injury.

"The expectation was there that I would do something good. Returning to the T20 team after a while and trying to do something good for the side. The injury was a bit difficult and deep. From there, it took some time to maintain everything and return," Trishna informed.

Skipper Nigar Sultana Joty, who kept her faith in Trishna after seeing her bowl with the new ball, said her return to the field has been inspiring.

"Since she bowled well in the initial overs, I kept her for the last overs and see how she will bowl in the death overs. How she came back is inspiring," Joty said about Trishna.