Bangladesh Women beat the West Indies Women by 60 runs in the second ODI of the series. The three-match series is being played at Warner Park in Basseterre, St Kitts. The ODI series will be followed by three T20Is in which the teams will battle for supremacy over the other.
In this match, Bangladesh batted first and put up a moderate total of 184 before being bowled out in 48.5 overs. Openers Fargana Hoque and Murshida Khatun gave their team a good start. Yet, they perished before either could reach their 20s. This repeated failure of Bangladeshi batters to convert their starts into big scores is frustrating.
Shamin Akhter, who came in at number three, departed for 11. Skipper and wicketkeeper Nigar Sultana Joti came in at number four with determination writ largely over her face. The right-handed batter took her time to get going and ground the Windies’ bowling attack to dust. She registered the highest score of the match with 68 off 120 balls.
Sobhana Mostary and Shorna Akter supported Sultana with 23 and 21, respectively. Yet, the captain battled it out largely on her own. She used her feet to good effect against the spinner and was composed enough not to take unnecessary risks against the seamers when pitching the ball in good-length areas.
Karishma Ramharack led the charts for the West Indies, finishing with figures of 10-0-33-4. She was helped immensely in the bowling department by Aaliyah Alleyne, who picked up 3-24. Bowling their visitors out for such a par score must have given the hosts confidence. Alas, that was not to last for long.
The hosts batted rather ordinarily and were dismissed for just 124 inside 35 overs by the Bangladeshis, allowing the latter to win this game by a whopping margin of 60 runs. Wicketkeeper-batter Shermaine Campbell was the only batter to resist the Bangladeshi charge with 28. However, the others around her collapsed and hardly put up a fight.
Cherry Ann Fraser remained unbeaten on 18 at the end, even as the visitors wrapped the innings up and celebrated their massive victory. Nahida Akter led the way for the Bangladeshis with 3-31, although she received ample support from Rabeya Khan and Fatima Khatun, who picked up two wickets each.
Opening bowler Marufa Akter, too, picked up two wickets and led the way for the rest of the bowlers to follow. This win will give Bangladesh much confidence as it levels them 1-1 with the hosts in the three-match series. The final match of the series, in which the winner takes all, will be played on Friday, January 24.
Although skipper Sultana led the way with the bat in hand, the Bangladeshi bowlers’ collective performance gave them this big win over the West Indies. The visitors hope to carry this momentum further into the final game of the series and the T20I series scheduled to start on Monday, January 27.