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40 minutes ago
New Zealand recovered from a top-order collapse to beat Bangladesh by 100 runs in Guwahati and pick up their first win of the Women’s World Cup.
The White Ferns suffered heavy defeats in their opening two matches against Australia and South Africa and were in trouble against Bangladesh, losing three wickets in 17 balls to slump to 38-3 after 11 overs.
Brooke Halliday (69 off 104) and captain Sophie Devine (63 off 84) rebuilt their innings, putting on a patient 112 runs for the fourth wicket against a spin-heavy Bangladesh attack, which was led by Rabeya Khan’s 3-30.
New Zealand cut loose in the final 10 overs, piling on 74 runs to reach 227-9, with back-to-back sixes from Devine as she passed 50 for the third innings in a row, and a four-ball 12 from Lea Tahuhu.
Bangladesh could not match their bright bowling performance with the bat, collapsing to 33-6 after 14 overs.
Tahuhu, making her 100th ODI appearance, struck twice in five balls after Rosemary Mair, Jess Kerr and Melie Kerr had accounted for the top four.
However, New Zealand will be frustrated with how long it took them to close out the innings, with Fahima Khatun’s 34 from 80 balls leading Bangladesh’s lower-order resistance until hers was the last wicket to fall.
The win moves New Zealand up to fifth place, level on two points with sixth-placed Bangladesh and two points behind second-placed England, who face Sri Lanka on Saturday.
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12 minutes ago
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Devine and Halliday rescue misfiring top order
New Zealand’s Devine cut a resigned figure as she walked out to bat in the ninth over.
Although her side had narrowly avoided losing a wicket in the opening over for the third time in three matches, thanks to Suzie Bates overturning an lbw decision when on nought, two wickets in three balls derailed their promising start.
Bates’ run-out, caught on her heels as Melie Kerr darted for a single, was inexcusable and marked the fifth powerplay wicket lost by New Zealand at the tournament.
Fortunately, Devine is the tournament’s in-form batter, scoring 112 and 85 in her previous two innings, and after Kerr’s dismissal in the 11th over left New Zealand teetering on the brink of all-out collapse, she found the perfect partner in Halliday.
They were forced to play the long game against Bangladesh’s battalion of slow spinners, who made it difficult to get the ball off the square. Rather uncharacteristically, Devine did not score a boundary until the 65th ball of her innings.
Instead, they were content to trade singles and tick along at around four an over during their perfectly timed stand. Any aggression came from Halliday, who found success with the sweep.
It laid the foundations for what Halliday described as “party time” in the final 10 overs, with nine of New Zealand’s 23 boundaries coming towards the death to push them beyond 220, before their bowlers ripped through Bangladesh.
But the resounding nature of their victory could not disguise a major batting concern for the White Ferns.
Devine has scored 260 runs at this tournament – or 37% of her side’s runs – while Halliday is responsible for their two other 40+ knocks. As for Georgia Plimmer, Bates and Kerr, they have combined for just 121 runs.
New Zealand have a win on the board, but relying on Devine intervention with the bat is not a sustainable strategy as they attempt to advance beyond the initial group stage for the first time since 2013.
‘Every point is absolute gold’ – what they said
New Zealand captain Sophie Devine: “Really pleased for the side to finally get on the board in tough circumstances with the bat. It wasn’t the prettiest from Brooke [Halliday] and I, but sometimes you have to do it ugly.
“The next games are incredibly important. Anyone can beat anyone. It makes for an exciting tournament. Every point is absolute gold. We’ve got to focus on the next day. We can’t control what else happens.”
Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana Joty: “We are not being consistent as a batting unit. When you’re chasing 200 and your top order doesn’t click, it’s difficult for any team to chase this target.
“We bowled really well, but what we expected from Marufa Akter, we didn’t get. The other bowlers around her bowled well, especially Nahida Akter and Rabeya Khan. We were in good control but they kept playing their shots and we leaked too many boundaries.”
