In the Women’s Asia Cup 2024, Bangladesh secured their first points by breaking their ten-match losing run in T20Is. They kept their hopes of making it to the semi-finals alive by defeating Thailand at Dambulla by seven wickets, which was a convincing comeback after their opening game loss to Sri Lanka.
Rabeya Khan Bangladesh restricted Thailand to a below-par 96 for 9 on a spin-friendly surface thanks to the four wicket haul of legspinner Rabeya Khan and the two scalps of seam-bowling all-rounder Ritu Moni.
With a 41-ball 40, Thailand’s Nattaya Boochatham scored the highest. After missing the prior match, Murshida Khatun responded by hitting 50 off 55 balls to send Bangladesh home in 17.3 overs.
Suwanchonrathi, the opener, dropped to No.
Boochatham opened with Aphisara Suwanchonrathi, who had batted at No. 11 in her previous two innings. However, Suwanchonrathi found it difficult to get going, therefore the move backfired. Before falling for a 20-ball 6 in the seventh over, it took her 12 deliveries to get off the mark. In the powerplay, Thailand was only able to score 25 for 0.
Rabeya, Moni strangle Thailand
Suwanchonrathi and Nannapat Koncharoenkai were dismissed by Rabeya after she struck twice in her first over, which was the eighth of the innings. This time, Koncharoenkai, who led the team in scoring with forty runs in the previous game, was duped. Bangladesh learnt early on in the match that Thailand had trouble scoring when faced with full balls. With drift, turn, and bounce, their spinners fooled the batters from Malaysia.
When Nigar Sultana gave the ball to Moni midway through, she scored right away. After hitting a powerful length, she caused the ball to swing in, removing Phannita Maya and making Thailand 38 for 3. Moni bowled Chanida Sutthiruang with a slower ball in her subsequent over, resulting in a ten-ball eight.
Using a wrong’un, Rabeya returned in the fourteenth over and captured Suwanan Khiaoto. She prevented Boochatham from taking off as well, taming her in the 17th over.
Following her three overs in which she let up 23 runs, debutant left-arm spinner Sabikun Nahar Jesmin took two off of two deliveries in her final stanza to further humiliate Thailand.
Amidst the runs, Murshida
Prior to Monday, Bangladesh has only defeated South Africa in one Twenty Twenty Five Twenty Twenty match, with Murshida topping the score with an undefeated 62. However, the team struggled at bat during the following seven months, frequently collapsing around Sultana. In an attempt to identify the winning combination, they selected seven players in the top three of the previous three series before to this competition.
Also Read: Jesmin, a Thailand hitter, makes his Bangladesh debut
Bangladesh even altered their starting lineup on Monday by three spots. Murshida was one of them, and she did it well. It took her ten deliveries before she made her first one, but after that, she kept the scoreboard moving. In the fifth over, there was an error between her and Dilara Akter, which led to the latter’s out. But Bangladesh was kept on the correct course by Murshida. She reached her fourth T20I half-century and smashed eight fours in her innings. She and Ishma Tanjim put up 60 runs off of 58 balls for the second wicket.
Late in the innings, Bangladesh lost two wickets, but this time, Sultana did not have to come to their aid.
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