Joty wants to set the tone in landmark game

It will be a special occasion for Nigar Sultana Joty when the Bangladesh skipper leads her team onto the Sharjah Cricket Stadium for the opener of the ninth edition of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup against Scotland today.

Joty is set to become the first Bangladeshi woman to play 100 T20Is, and the 27-year-old will want to mark her landmark appearance with a win to set the Tigresses on course for a chance to rewrite their abysmal records in the mega event.

"Playing your 100th T20I is a different kind of feeling," Joty said on the eve of their first World Cup game in the UAE.

"I am very happy and, at the same time, I feel amazed that I am about to play my 100th T20I as it feels like just a few days back I started my career. However, it'll be the happiest [moment] and most memorable for me if I can contribute and help Bangladesh win in my landmark game," Joty added.

It augurs well for Bangladesh that they would be starting the tournament, in which they have suffered severely in the past, by facing a side they have beaten every time in the shortest format -- the Tigresses won all four of their T20I encounters against Scotland so far.

However, Joty was not ready to be overwhelmed with complacency.

"We won every match [T20Is] we played against Scotland, so that's a good sign for us. But there is no opportunity to take any team lightly as every team came here [into this World Cup] with similar capacities. So, everyone will have that hunger to win matches. Hence, we will take one game at a time and will be mulling over the plans with which we can beat them [Scotland]," the wicketkeeper-batter said.

Bangladesh bounced back in their second World Cup warm-up game with a 23-run win over Pakistan after suffering a 33-run defeat in their first practice match against Sri Lanka in the UAE.

And head coach Hashan Tillakaratne was eager to carry that momentum into the first game.

"The first warm-up game did not go as we expected. But the girls played really well in the second game against Pakistan. So, Bangladesh would go into the tournament with a lot of positivity.

"The momentum starts from the first game, so, It's very much important that we play our A game and get a positive result," Tillakaratne said.