SHARJAH: Danni Wyatt-Hodge’s anchoring knock, followed by a combined bowling effort steered England to a 21-run victory over Bangladesh in the sixth match of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 here at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
Set to chase 119, Bangladesh only managed 97 runs for the loss of seven wickets in their quota of 20 overs despite Sobhana Mostary’s 44-run knock.
Bangladesh had a shaky start to the pursuit as Shathi Rani and Dilara Akter perished inside five overs with the scoreboard reading 17/2.
Skipper Nigar Sultana and Sobhana Mostary then tried to settle things down with a cautious 35-run partnership, culminating with the former’s dismissal in the 12th over.
Sultana made 15 off 20 deliveries with the help of two boundaries.
Her dismissal sparked a collapse as Bangladesh kept losing wickets at regular intervals, while Mostary ticked the scoreboard singlehandedly until finally walking back to the dugout in the penultimate over.
She remained the top-scorer for Bangladesh with a gutsy 44 off 48 balls, laced up with one six and a four.
Charlie Dean and Linsey Smith bagged two wickets each for England while Nat Sciver-Brunt and Sarah Glenn struck out one batter apiece.
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Opting to bat first, former champions England got off to a flying start to their innings as openers Maia Bouchier and Danni Wyatt-Hodge dominated Bangladesh bowlers in the batting powerplay, which yielded 47 runs.
England were on course to amass a big total but Rabeya Khan, bowling her first over, provided Bangladesh with a massive breakthrough in the form of Bouchier.
Bouchier scored a brisk 23 off 18 deliveries with the help of three fours.
England suffered another blow when Nat Sciver-Brunt (2)was trapped lbw by Fahima Khatun with the scoreboard reading 53/2 in eight overs.
Skipper Heather Knight then put together a cautious 20-run partnership for the third wicket with Wyatt-Hodge before both perished in quick succession, reducing England to 76/4 in 12.1 overs.
Knight made six off seven balls, while Wyatt-Hodge remained the top-scorer for England with a 40-ball 41, laced up with five fours.
The back-to-back dismissals jolted England’s batting expedition and the former champions went into a defensive mode.
The cautious approach did not benefit England much as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were eventually curtailed to 118/7.
For Bangladesh, Nahida Akter, Ritu Moni and Fahima Khatun bagged two wickets each while Rabeya Khan made one scalp.
Hosts Bangladesh are at the top of Group B standings of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 with two points in one match while England are playing their first match of the tournament.