Bangladesh Women Deny Harmanpreet & Co. A Clean Sweep

image-lk12rdepHarmanpreet Kaur was stumped for 40 (Twitter)

Bangladesh Women's cricket team managed to salvage their pride by defeating India Women by four wickets in the third T20I match in Dhaka. Despite already losing the series 2-0, Bangladesh displayed a spirited performance to secure a four-wicket victory and avoid a 0-3 whitewash.


Resilient Bangladesh halt India's series sweep ambition

Having won the toss, India Women opted to bat first but struggled to find their footing against a disciplined Bangladesh bowling attack. The Indian team could only muster a modest total of 102/9 in their allotted 20 overs.

Rabeya Khan was the standout bowler for Bangladesh, finishing with exceptional figures of 3/16. Despite a valiant effort by captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who top-scored with 40, and a fighting 28 from Jemimah Rodrigues, the rest of the Indian batting lineup collapsed under pressure.

Chasing a target of 103, Bangladesh faced early setbacks as Minnu Mani struck early, removing opener Shathi Rani and Dilara Akter in her first two overs. However, Shamima Sultana and Nigar Sultana stabilized the innings with a crucial 46-run partnership. Devika Vaidya managed to get the much-needed breakthrough by dismissing the Bangladesh captain.

In a marked improvement from their previous performance, Bangladesh displayed a much more determined approach. They showed intent in rotating the strike and finding boundaries consistently, rectifying the mistakes that plagued them in the second T20I.

Shamima Sultana played a pivotal role in holding the innings together from one end. The 17th over posed a slight hitch as both Sultana Khatun and Shamima Sultana fell on consecutive balls, but the succeeding over compensated as India's Rashi Kanojiya yielded a decisive 13 runs, sealing Bangladesh's victory.

The win has provided Bangladesh Women's team a much-needed boost, allowing them to salvage their pride after a series loss. On the other hand, India Women would be disappointed with their batting performance, failing to build substantial partnerships and post a challenging total for the second game in a row.


Brief Scores

India: 102/9 (20)

Harmanpreet Kaur: 40 (41), Jemimah Rodrigues 28 (26)

Rabeya Khan 3-16, Sultana Khatun 2/17

Bangladesh: 103/6 (18.2)

Shamima Sultana 42 (46), Nigar Sultana 14 (20)

Devika Vaidya 2-16, Minnu Mani 2-28

Bangladesh Women won by 4 wickets.