136/5 (32.1)
CR : 4.23
135/6 (43.0)
CR : 3.14
Australia Women won by 5 wickets
Player of the Match
Beth Mooney
66(75)
Over 32
Australia Women 135/5
Beth Mooney66(75)
Annabel Sutherland25(38)
Nahida Akter1-33(5.0)
32.1
1
R Ahmed to A Sutherland
Flighted delivery on the stumps, Sutherland drives it down the ground and completes a dominant win over Bangladesh. They remain unbeaten in the league stages of the competition as they beat Bangladesh by five wickets.
AUSW won by 5 wickets
Australia register yet another victory and make it 7 out 7 at the tournament. The win, however, didn't come easy and the women from down under were made to work hard to get over the line. Any which way, Lanning and Co go back with a 5-wicket win with 65 balls to spare and end their league phase with a 100% win record, which they would be proud of. Bangladesh, on the other hand, are left with one game against England with a solitary win in their kitty after 6 games,
While some early wickets into the chase did derail the Aussie chase, Beth Mooney's 75-ball 66 ensured her team got over the line. They are the number one side in the world for some reason, aren't they? With so many match-winners in the side, it was always going to be difficult for Bangladesh to keep the women from down under from a victory. Another standout performer was Annabel Sutherland, who held the other end alongside Mooney, scoring a crucial knock of 26 runs off 39 balls. As for Bangladesh, it was Salma Khatun who brought them into the contest with the early blows. Thereafter, some tight bowling by Rumana Ahmed made sure the Aussies had to toil to get to the target, which they eventually did as well.
Beth Mooney is the Player of the Match for her match-winning knock of 66* off 75 balls.
Beth Mooney | Player of the Match: "It was
really tough out there in the middle. Probably won’t be bowling Darcie if we
were bowling second. It was a learning curve. We played against them in the T20
World Cup and the intel helped us prepare for today’s clash. They were
versatile and it was challenging while facing their bowlers. The challenge was to
adapt to the conditions. I think of spending some time in the middle as it was
a different situation today. It's all about adapting to the situation as an opener, I would face the new ball whereas, in the middle order, I will take the game forward. Sutherland is a quality young player and she has
been a big part of this squad. She has been improving day by day and happy to
see her perform at the top level."
Nigar Sultana | Losing Skipper: “Really proud of the girls with the way they fought against the Australian side. I think we fell short by 30-40 runs with the bat but credit to the bowlers and fielders to fight till the end. I started with Jahanara but she was struggling to bowl in the wind. Salma bowled brilliantly and I decided to keep bowling the spinners. It was difficult to see in the later stages of the match as the fielders out on the boundary weren’t able to see the ball clearly. We played our first match here and will take a lot of positives from tonight to face England in our next match.”
Meg Lanning | Winning Skipper: "The conditions were probably the hardest I've ever played in. We certainly had to fight as Bangladesh put us under pressure. The knocks by Mooney and Sutherland were amazing. Sutherland did great coming in as a young player. It was pretty impressive, and that's the key takeaway from this game for us, fight till the end for a win."
So, Australia keep playing to their reputation as the number one team in women's cricket, and that brings us to the conclusion of today's game. Do join us for the remaining league phase fixtures and then the knockouts of this mega tournament. For now, it's me, Ajay, along with my fellow commentators Akshay and Rahul, signing off. Goodbye!