Bangladesh women’s team’s slow left-arm spinner Nahida Akter has expressed optimism that the team’s batters will bounce back when they take on South Africa in a crucial World Cup encounter on Monday at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam.

Bangladesh began their World Cup campaign with a morale-boosting seven-wicket win over Pakistan but then stumbled in the next two games — suffering a narrow four-wicket defeat to England before being outplayed by New Zealand by 100 runs.

Batting has been Bangladesh’s biggest concern in the tournament so far — managing only 178 runs against England in the second match and 127 while chasing 228 against New Zealand in the third.

Against England, only Sobhana Mostary (60), Rabeya Khan (43), Sharmin Akhter (30), and Shorna Akter (10) managed to reach double figures. Against New Zealand, the top order crumbled early, losing six wickets for just 33 runs. Later, Fahima Khatun (34), Nahida Akter (17), and Rabeya Khan (25) put up some resistance, while 30 runs from extras lifted Bangladesh to 127.

“I agree our batting collapsed. We’ve already discussed it with our batting coaches and among the players. We’ve been working on those weaknesses, and hopefully the batters will come back in the next match,” Nahida said during the pre-match press conference on Sunday.

Addressing potential changes at the top of the order, Nahida said, “The management will decide who’ll open and what the setup will be.”

When asked about facing South Africa, who recently defeated tournament favourites India, Nahida said, “We’ve already talked with our batters and bowlers and will have another team meeting. We know that they are a good team and won their last match, but we’ll try our best to perform well and do better in tomorrow’s match.”

Bangladesh currently sit sixth in the points table, and a win against South Africa is crucial to keep their semifinal hopes alive. “We are going for the same approach. Just if we bat long, I think it’s going to be a good match,” she added.