England secured a hard-fought four-wicket victory in Guwahati because to a cautious half-century from Heather Knight, which helped them overcome a determined bowling performance from Bangladesh. Although Bangladesh only scored 178, they fought hard with the ball, but the four-time champions won their second tournament match with to England’s depth in the batting lineup. To push England over the finish line and to the top of the points table, Knight hit an undefeated 79 off 111 and had an unbroken 79-run partnership with Charlie Dean for the seventh wicket.
When England’s pursuit began, there was a lot of drama. Following Bangladesh’s failure to review an LBL scream, Amy Jone was given a reprieve; however, she was soon stranded in front of Marufa Akter. Tammy Beaumont was dismissed by Marufa off Nahida Akhter, and to the chagrin of Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana, Heather Knight reversed an on-field judgement of caught-behind in Marufa’s over using the DRS. Following regular boundaries from Beaumont and Knight to get England going, Marufa ended the former’s stay by dismissing her LBW, and Bangladesh was once again on the receiving end of a review. Knight overturned a lbw verdict by sending it upstairs in the same over. After ten, Nat Sciver-Brunt hit three fours in a Marufa over, bringing England to 45/2.
The majority of Sciver-Brunt’s runs came from her partnership with Knight, who was playing a cautious innings and also got a lucky break.
Despite Shorna Akter’s diving catch in Fahima Khatun’s over, Knight was given the benefit of the doubt by the third umpire. After Sciver-Brunt chipped a Khatun delivery straight to midwicket to leave for 32, the 40-run stand, off 73 deliveries, was over. The same over saw England fall to 69/4 when Sophia Dunkley was out lbw. After Khatun had Emma Lamb caught at mid-on, it was 78/5 a short while later. This time, the third umpire decided that Nahida’s catch was clean.
Knight’s first 25 runs came at a strike rate of less than 40, but England reached 100 in 28 overs thanks to a few boundaries from Capsey.
However, England’s problems worsened when Shanjida Akter Meghla trapped Capsey in front, lowering them to 103/6. Dean gave Knight strong support as she reached an 86-ball fifty, and Knight eventually began to find the boundaries. Marufa’s absence from the field, however, was not aiding Bangladesh; in the 41st over, the seventh wicket combination helped England reach 150 and set a half-century stand. In the 47th over, Dean hit the winning boundary to lead England to the target after the batters had dismissed Khatun, who finished with impressive figures of 3 for 16.
When invited to bat first earlier, Sharmin Akhter gave Bangladesh a strong start by hitting three fours off Lauren Bell in the third over and most of the runs in the opening partnership with Rubya Haider. However, England swiftly responded. In her first over, Linsey Smith was given a wicket when Sultana provided a catch to cover after Haider mistimed a lofted drive from Bell. A sedate stretch of play ensued, with Bangladesh reaching 31/2 after 10 overs.
Sobhana Mostary consistently found boundaries, including a three off Sciver-Brunt in an over, as she attempted to quicken the pace. However, Sophie Ecclestone caught Sharmin off guard just as the momentum started to change. When Dean took her first wicket, taking a weak top-edge from Shorna, Mostary and Shorna’s efforts to stabilise the batting were cut short. This was followed by another peaceful play segment. With 20 overs left, Bangladesh stumbled to 92 for 4 after adding just 16 runs between overs 21 and 30, with Ritu Moni managing just 1 off 24 balls and Mostary slowing down as well.
After Bangladesh failed to score a boundary for 61 balls, Mostary hit two consecutive fours off Sciver-Brunt in the 31st over. Moni’s 36-ball five-ball fight, meantime, ended when she caught the deep midwcket fielder attempting to get Dean over the fence. Mostary, who was given a respite at 49, reached her first ODI fifty, but Bangladesh experienced another period of unbeaten runs, this time lasting 63 balls. With a four off Alice Capsey in the 42nd over, Mostary ended the drought, but Bangladesh also began to lose wickets quickly and were eventually bowled out. Because to Rabeya Khan’s cameo, which saw her smash a 27-ball 43 not out with six fours and a six, they were able to reach the 175-mark.
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