Bangladesh spinners choked Ireland before the batters were made to toil hard to earn the ODI series victory with 5 wickets in hand and 37 balls to spare in the 2nd ODI. With the series fate already out of the visitor’s hands, the 3rd and the final ODI of the series was potentially a dead rubber.
The visitors, Ireland made a couple of changes to their side. Alana Dalzell replaced Laura Delany and Cara Murray replaced Ava Canning into the side. The home side, on the other hand, stuck with the same side that played in the 2nd ODI.
Skipper Gaby Lewis leads from the front with a half-century before Ireland fold for 185
Ireland got off to a poor start losing Sarah Forbes in the 6th over of the innings after skipper Gaby Lewis won the toss and opted to bat first in the 3rd ODI. Sultana Khatun provided the first breakthrough for Bangladesh. Wicket-keeper batter Amy Hunter joined skipper Gaby Lewis at the crease and the duo led the recovery with a much-needed 48-run 2nd wicket partnership, which also took their side past the 50-run mark. Bangladesh continued to exploit the opposition’s weakness against spin as Rabeya Khan picked up the wicket of the wicket-keeper batter Amy Hunter to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side.
Orla Prendergast joined skipper Gaby Lewis at the crease and the pair took their side close to the 100-run mark courtesy of another crucial 40-run 3rd-wicket partnership. Ireland skipper Gaby Lewis (52 off 79 balls) completed her well-deserved half-century, before eventually falling to another spinner in Fahima Khatun. Ireland’s innings derailed after the departure of their skipper as they lost their last 7 wickets for just 88 runs, as a result, getting bundled out for 185 in their quota of 50 overs.
Orla Prendergast (27 off 45 balls), wicket-keeper batter Amy Hunter (23 off 40 balls), Alana Dalzell (19 off 44 balls), Arlene Kelly (18 off 28 balls), and Cara Murray (13 off 9 balls) were the other key contributors alongside skipper Gaby Lewis who carried their team’s total closer to the 200-run mark. Ireland’s top-order made a significant contribution of around 58% of the team’s total. Sultana Khatun (10-2-29-2), Rabeya Khan (10-0-27-1), and Fahima Khatun (10-0-43-3) were the stand-out performers with the ball for Bangladesh.
Fifties from Fargana Hoque and Sharmin Akhter complete a dominating whitewash
Chasing a target of 186, the home side, Bangladesh got off to a similar start as they lost the wicket of Murshida Khatun in the 5th over of the run chase. Orla Prendergast provided the first breakthrough for Ireland. Sharmin Akhter joined Fargana Hoque at the crease and the pair almost killed the run chase with a record 143-run 2nd wicket partnership. Aimee Maguire picked up the wicket of Sharmin Akhter to provide the much-needed 2nd breakthrough for the visitors.
Bangladesh eventually got over the line with 7 wickets in hand and 75 balls to spare. Sharmin Akhter (72 off 88 balls), and Fargana Hoque (61 off 99 balls) were the stand-out performers with the bat for Bangladesh. Aimee Maguire (8-0-38-2), Orla Prendergast (5-0-17-1), and Freya Sargent (7-0-36-0) were the positives with the ball for Ireland.
Sharmin Akhter was awarded the Player of the Match for her match-winning innings of 72 off 88 balls. Fargana Hoque was awarded the Player of the Series for scoring 172 runs, including a hattrick of half-centuries, in three innings for her side in the series.
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