Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com
Bangladesh women’s team recorded their biggest win by runs in the one-day format when they outplayed Ireland by 154 runs in the first WODI of the three-match series at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on Wednesday.
Batting first, Bangladesh posted 252-4, their highest-ever total in ODIs, where Sharmin scored 96 off 89, with Fargana Haque also hitting 61.
Two spinners, Nahida Akter and Sultana Khatun, each took three wickets as Bangladesh skittled Ireland for 98 in 28.5 runs.
The winning margin of 154 runs is the biggest for Bangladesh in terms of runs. The previous one came when they beat South Africa by 119 runs in East London in 2023.
Bangladesh came into the match with a concern over the recent performance of their top-order batting as their last eight partnerships didn’t reach fifty for the first-third wickets.
But Murshida Khatun and Fargana started things smoothly as they added 59 off 112. Murshida couldn’t reach fifty, but a second wicket partnership of 104 off 105 runs between Fargana and Sharmin put Bangladesh in a commanding position.
This is only the fifth hundred partnership for Bangladesh in ODIs and second quickest in terms of ball faced.
Sharmin, who was playing her first international since July 2023, started scoring by hitting two consecutive boundaries off Laura Delany and didn’t look back. She reached fifty off 41 balls—the quickest ever by a Bangladeshi.
After Fargana fell, Sharmin continued with captain Nigar Sultana Joty as they added 61 off 64.
Sharmin was within touching distance of becoming the third Bangladeshi woman to hit an ODI ton but fell short four runs with six balls remaining in the innings.
However, she hit a record number of 14 boundaries in her innings. Her strike rate of 107.87 is also the highest, where at least 60 runs were made by the Bangladeshi batters in an innings.
Off-spinner Sultana was full of praise for Sharmin’s innings.
‘She played so well. I’ve seen her for the second time play like this. But I think she could do even better,’ said Sultana after the match.
Sharna Akter’s cameo of 13 off nine ensured that Bangladesh reached their highest total.
But the bowlers were confident to defend the total even before their innings had ended.
‘When I saw that our score crossed 200, I thought there was a good opportunity for the bowlers’, said Sultana.
‘We could get over the line if we just bowl well. Our plan was to bowl wicket to wicket.’
In reply, Ireland lost their key wicket of captain Gaby Lewis in the third over of the innings.
She was trapped lbw off Marufa Akter. The visitors’ innings never got going from that phase, and they kept losing wickets at regular intervals.
Irish opener Sarah Forbes tried to survive, but when she got runout, Ireland couldn’t keep Bangladesh at bay for long.
Bangladesh’s only scare came when Sharmin injured herself while fielding. She didn’t come to attend the press conference as intended. But the team management said that her injury was not serious and she was under physio’s observation.
The second ODI match of the series is scheduled to be held at the same venue on November 30.
