MOUNT MAUNGANUI: West Indian all-rounder Hayley Matthews shone with the ball; taking four wickets to assist West Indies edged past Bangladesh by four runs in a low scoring thriller of the ongoing ICC Women’s World Cup, here on Friday.
Set to chase a paltry 141, Bangladesh’s batting line-up failed and fell four runs short of the target as they bowled out for 136 in the last over.
Coming out to chase a skimpy total, Bangladesh fumbled at the start as the side lost their first wicket for a mere one run. Sharmin Akhter and Fargana Hoque then put on a brief 29 runs partnership to anchor the run chase.
Their stand, however, could not get going for long as Sharmin walked back to the pavilion after managing to score just 17. Fargana, on the other hand, made her way back after putting on a 30-runs partnership with the skipper Nigar Sultana.
With the Fargana-Nigar partnership, the side was cruising in the run chase with 60/2 in the 22nd over, but, Fargana’s dismissal sparked a match-defining collapse as the side could only manage to score 136 for the loss of all 10 wickets.
Bangladesh’s lower order batter Nahida Akter remained the top-scorer for her side with Nigar as they both scored 25 each. The former, however, remained unbeaten.
For West Indies, Matthews led the way with four wickets, while Afy Fletcher and Stefanie Taylor picked up three wickets each.
Batting first, the West Indian batting line-up also failed as they only managed to post a paltry 140/9 in the allotted 50 overs.
West Indian wicket-keeper batter Sehmanie Campbelle played a gritty knock and powered her side to a reputable total as wickets were tumbling at the other end.
Campbelle, coming out to bat when the side was 48/3 in the 15th over, played an astonishing knock and carried her bat till the end. She scored 53 off 107 balls with the help of five boundaries.
The rest of the West Indian batter could not contribute significantly to the total as the side could only get to 140 in 50 overs.
For Bangladesh, Salma Khatun and Nahida bagged two wickets each, while Jahanara Alam, Rumana Ahmed, and Ritu Moni struck out a batter each.
READ: Egypt’s Karim, Omar advance to GFS Karachi Open Squash semi-finals
