Home ›› 23 Mar 2022 ›› Sport
A resilient bowling display from the Bangladeshi bowlers ended in vain as they lost to India by 110 runs in their fifth match of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Tuesday.
A dismal batting display from the Bangladeshi batters saw them being bowled out for only 119 runs in 40.3 overs while chasing India’s 229, owing to a familiar collapse as the batters failed to put up a fight.
Salma Khatun was the highest scorer with 32 runs off 35 deliveries, sharing a 40-run partnership with Lata Mondol, who scored 24 off 46 deliveries. Opener Murshida Khatun was the only batter in the top-five to get to a two-digit score, but her sedated innings of 19 runs off 54 deliveries did little to get Bangladesh going.
Bangladesh’s batting slump has been a common feature throughout this tournament. They lost wickets regularly after managing only 19-2 in the first powerplay against India.
Off-spinner Sneh Rana proved calamitous for Bangladesh, and inroads from Pooja Vastrakar and Rajeshwari Gayakwad crippled their chase. Rana took four wickets, Vastrakar picked up two, and Gayakwad picked up one.
India batted first on a turning track after winning the toss, and openers Smriti Mandhana and Shefali Verma put together a 74-run stand as they looked comfortable at the crease. But a quick flurry of wickets saw them falter, with four down for 108 runs after 27 overs.
India’s struggle in the middle was alleviated by Yastika Bhatia’s fifty along with a rapid finish by Pooja Vastrakar and Sneh Rana as they shared a 48-run stand to take India to 229.
Nahida Akter and Ritu Moni started India’s plunge with their discipline, keeping the batters on a tight leash, as they shared five wickets among them to prevent India from setting a big target.
Moni, who was on a hat-trick after taking back-to-back wickets in the 16th over, returned with figures of 3-37, and Nahida picked up 2-42.
Off-spinner Salma Khatun bowled with accuracy as she bowled eight overs with an economy of 2.87, whilst leg-spinner Ruamana Ahmed gave away only 27 runs in eight overs.
Bangladesh won only one match out of five, and they will face Australia and England in their next two.
Bangladesh skipper Nigar Sultana Joty assured her team is ready for the upcoming matches and that a better batting performance would help.
“I think we prepared ourselves well. We have done enough practice in the nets, and we have played enough practice matches. We played against each other. So, it’s time for us to execute, and I think if at least two-three batters contribute in the next matches, then we will get a very good score on the board. So maybe the scenario will be different,” she said.
