Bangladesh Women came close to registering their first-ever ODI series win against the star-studded India but fell just short. Nonetheless, they can take pride in not losing the series against a team considered much stronger than Bangladesh, reports UNB.
At the end of the match, Harmanpreet Kaur, the Indian captain, expressed her frustration with the umpiring in this series. She said, "I think therea are a lot for us to learn. We were very surprised by the umpiring in this series."
"The next time we come to Bangladesh, we will have to deal with this type of umpiring," she added.
Winning the toss and electing to bat first, Bangladesh got off to a solid start with opener Shamima Sultana scoring a patient half-century. However, it was Fargana Hoque who stole the show, crafting a brilliant 107 off 160 deliveries—marking the maiden ODI century by a Bangladeshi woman. Fargana hit seven boundaries in her innings and single-handedly held the Bangladesh innings together as wickets fell at regular intervals at the other end.
In the end, Bangladesh managed to post a competitive total of 225/4 in their 50 overs, thanks to Fargana`s heroics. Sneh Rana was the pick of the bowlers for India, taking two wickets for 45 runs, while Devika Vaidya took the other wicket.
Chasing 226 for victory, India got off to a poor start, losing opener Shafali Verma in the second over. Yastika Bhatia also fell cheaply, leaving India in trouble at 32/2. However, Harleen Deol and Smriti Mandhana put on a crucial partnership to steady the innings. In the third-wicket stand, they added 107 runs to the board.
Deol played a brilliant knock of 77 off 108 deliveries, hitting nine boundaries in the process. She was involved in two important partnerships, first with Mandhana and then with Jemimah Rodrigues. Mandhana posted 59 off 85 balls, while Jemimah remained unbeaten on 33 off 45 balls.
However, India lost wickets at crucial junctures, including Deol, who was run out in the 42nd over, which kept the game in the balance.
With one over to go, India needed 3 runs to win. However, Bangladesh held their nerve and managed to tie the game, with India finishing on 225/10 in 49.3 overs.
Marufa conceded two runs off the first two balls of the last over, and on the third ball, she scalped the wicket of Meghna Singh, confirming India`s inability to win this match. India lost the last five wickets for just 34 runs.
For Bangladesh, Nahida Akter picked up three wickets, and Marufa Akter scalped two, while Fahima Khatun and Sultana Khatun took a wicket each.
“We are looking forward to carrying this moment. As a batting unit, we collapse usually, but from here, we can have many takeaways moving forward,” Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana said.
With this thrilling tie, Bangladesh managed to level the series. The Tigress had won the first match of the series, but India bounced back in the second match.
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