Bangladesh Women pulled off a sensational comeback in the final and decider last ODI against India Women in Mirpur to draw the series 1-1 on Saturday. With this tie, Bangladesh Women also snatched India’s chances of clinching the series.
In a dramatic match, three runs were needed off the final six balls with one wicket in hand when Meghna Singh and Jemimah Rodrigues ran a single on the first two balls of the 50th over to level the scores. However, on the third ball, Meghna ended up edging the ball into the hands of Bangladesh wicket keeper and captain Nigar Sultana.
Bangladesh Women’s Team had started celebrating when both the Indian batters Jemimah and Meghna were looking disappointed. The joy was visible on their faces. They managed to save themselves from the jaws of a series defeat.
India were looking good and had control over the game till the 33rd over of the match when a collapse suddenly dismantled their batting line-up. That collapse was triggered in the 42nd over after the departure of Harleen Deol (77 off 108). India were reduced from 191/4 in 41.1 overs to 217/9 in 47.4 overs.
Jemimah Rodrigues who came to bat at number six, held one end with her unbeaten 33 off 45 balls but got no support from others. As many as six India Women batters got out for single-digit scores. Smriti Mandhana was the second-highest run-scorer for India with 59 runs off 85 balls.
Nahida Akter was the pick of the bowlers for Bangladesh Women as she scalped 3 wickets. Marufa Akter chipped in with a couple of wickets.
Earlier in the match, Bangladesh Women won the toss and chose to bat first, and posted a score of 225-4 in their 50 overs. Shamima Sultana and Fargana Hoque opened the innings for Bangladesh Women and they got off to a cautious start, gradually increasing the run-rate. The Indian bowlers seemed clueless in the first half of their innings as the openers built a strong partnership of 93 runs.
Finally, in the 27th over, Sneh Rana managed to dismiss Sultana, who scored 52 runs. Nigar Sultana then joined the gear with Fargana Hoque who was looking in good touch, they kept the scoreboard ticking. Fargana continued her splendid innings, reaching a remarkable century with 107 runs, becoming the first Bangladeshi player to achieve this milestone in the Women’s ODI.
From the bowling point of view, Sneh Rana was the standout bowler for India, taking a couple of wickets while Devika contributed with one.
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