The Bangladesh women’s national team lost the first ODI of their tour of South Africa by six-wickets in a one-sided affair in Benoni on Friday, as the hosts chased down the tourists’ 149/8 in the 38th over.
Bangladesh lost the toss and were put in to bat by South Africa, who allowed just one run in the first three overs to set the tone for the rest of the innings. Opener Fargana Hoque scored 63 off 108 balls
to lead the tourists’ resistance but her batting partners struggled at the other end.
Fargana and number five Salma Khatun (26 off 40) were the only Bangladeshis to reach 20 runs and the only ones to finish with strike-rates above 50.
Spinner Sunette Loubser led the South African bowling effort, taking 3/28 in her 10 overs. Dane van Niekerk (1/24) and Marcia Letsoalo (1/23) were even stingier in their 10-over spells, providing no respite for Bangladesh.
The Proteas Women began their chase with an 80-run opening partnership between debutante Lizelle Lee (77) and Trisha Chetty (39), who made sure that South Africa never appeared in danger of losing, even after the wickets of Chetty and Mignon du Preez in quick succession.
Lee and Marizanne Kapp put on 44 for the 3rd wicket to quickly steady the innings before losing their wickets with the target well within reach. A van Niekerk boundary
in the 38th over took South Africa to 153/4 and to victory.
Khadija Tul Kubra took three of the four South African wickets for 43 runs. Jahanara Alam took the other wicket for a
bowling unit that never seemed to have a chance defending its side’s paltry total.
The second ODI will be played in Johannesburg on Sunday before the three-match series wraps up at Centurion on Tuesday.
BRIEF SCORES
Bangladesh Women v South Africa Women
Bangladesh Women 149-8 in 50 overs (F Hoque 63, S Kathun 26; S Loubser 3-28) v SA Women 153-4 in 37.5 overs (L Lee 77, T Chetty 39; K Kubra 3-43).
Result: South Africa Women won by 6 wickets.
Player of the match: L Lee (SA)
-With New Age input
