Jemimah Rodrigues leads the way with an absolute box-office effort to power India to a thrashing win over Bangladesh in the 2nd ODI.
The women in blue are in Bangladesh for a bilateral series that includes a three-match T20I series followed by a three-match ODI series. India managed to clinch the T20I series courtesy of a clinical performance predominantly by the bowlers. The ODI series commenced on 16th July 2023. The visitors suffered a shocking defeat in the first ODI, courtesy of a poor performance from the batting unit. In this article, we will be discussing how things panned out in the 2nd ODI.
Bangladesh skipper Nigar Sultana Joty won the toss and opted to bowl first. India got off to a cautious start, but eventually lost their opener Priya Punia in the 5th over of the innings. The Player of the Match from the last game, Marufa Akter provided the first breakthrough for Bangladesh, courtesy of a peach of a delivery that came back into the right-hander from a good length to knock the top of her off-stump. The wicket-keeper batter Yastika Bhatia joined Smriti Mandhana at the crease, she came out with positive intent and played a cameo (15 off 23), smashing three boundaries in her knock. Her stay at the crease came to an end courtesy of an unfortunate run out at the non-striker’s end.
The 18-year-old leg-spinner Rabeya Khan dismissed Smriti Mandhana who danced down the track and got deceived by the leg-break to see her stumps getting rattled in her bid to score some quick runs. She looked good and was increasing in confidence during her stay at the crease. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur was joined by Jemimah Rodrigues and the duo were building on a platform provided by the batters.
The injury scare to skipper Harmanpreet Kaur saw her getting retired hurt when she was batting on 48. Harleen Deol, replaced the skipper to join Jemimah Rodrigues at the crease. Jemimah Rodrigues completed her fourth ODI half-century in just 57 balls. Harleen Deol lost her wicket to Nahida Akter after getting a fair measure of the conditions on offer.
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur came back in, after the departure of Harleen Deol to join Jemimah Rodrigues at the crease and completed her 18th ODI half-century off 83 balls. The duo almost stayed together right till the end for a combined partnership of 98 runs off 106 balls. Jemimah Rodrigues scored 86 runs off just 78 balls before getting stumped by the opposition skipper on the last ball of the 49th over as she skipped down the track to explore the scoring areas on the off-side with an intent to provide the finishing touches to the innings. She was short of her crease despite of her desperate split to get back in.
India managed to put on a competitive total (228/8) on the board, especially considering the conditions on offer. Smriti Mandhana took over the leadership duties in the 2nd Innings, as skipper Harmanpreet Kaur was nursing her injury which she suffered while her stay at the crease in the first innings. Chasing a total of 229, the home side got off to a poor start, losing both their openers, Sharmin Akhter and Murshida Khatun inside the first five overs of the run chase. Right-arm off-spinner Deepti Sharma provided the first breakthrough for India by trapping Sharmin Akhter on the pads with a delivery that turned in sharply.
𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 🇮🇳 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮 💪🏻
3️⃣ wickets in just 8 balls.
India won the 2nd ODI by 108 runs! 🔥
The series is now level at 🇮🇳 1️⃣- 🇧🇩 1️⃣
The final ODI will be played on 22nd July.#CricketTwitter #BANvIND 📸: BCCI pic.twitter.com/NLGVKcQ2sb
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) July 19, 2023
Ritu Moni joined Fargana Hoque at the crease after the departure of Lata Mondal and the duo stitched a 68-run partnership for the 4th wicket to rekindle some hope for the home side to take down the target and seal the series, but as it turns out, that hope was just a momentary one as they suffered a collapse, triggered by the off-spin of Jemimah Rodrigues who was enjoying her dream day on the field, as she picked up four wickets by giving away just three runs in her spell of 3.1 overs. The Indian spinners wreaked havoc in the run chase as they accounted for 90% of the wickets in the opposition camp.
The home side were eventually bundled out for 120, as India roared back into the series with an emphatic 108-run victory over Bangladesh in the 2nd ODI. They lost their last six wickets for just 16 runs as none of their batters, apart from Faragana Hoque (47 off 81 balls) and Ritu Moni (27 off 46) managed to get into the double digits. Indian batter Jemimah Rodrigues was awarded the Player of the Match for her power-packed all-round performances on the field, scoring 86 off 78 balls with the bat, and for her exceptional figures of 4/3 with the ball, playing a pivotal role in keeping the series alive.
