The final day of the league stages of the ongoing 13th edition of the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup was a rare double header. India, led by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, were up against Bangladesh, led by skipper Nigar Sultana Joty, in the 2nd game of the day.
India were keen to finalise their perfect playing combination before they head towards the semi-final clash against Australia. Bangladesh, on the other hand, were one of the most impressive teams in the competition; the points table may not reflect the same, but they have managed to make the higher-ranked sides earn their points in the competition. The Nigar Sultana Joty-led side were desperate to sign off their campaign on a high after multiple near-misses to earn those victory points.
India rested the regular wicket-keeper batter Richa Ghosh, handing an ODI debut to the young 23-year-old wicket-keeper batter Uma Chetry. The left-arm spinner Radha Yadav made her way into the side, replacing Sneh Rana. Amanjot Kaur also returned to the side, replacing Kranti Goud in the starting 11. Bangladesh brought back Sumaiya Akter, replacing Fargana Hoque in the side.
Spinners restrict Bangladesh to a modest total
The rain gods, who have been playing the main character roles for most of the matches in Colombo, made their trip to India. As a result, we had a delayed start, with a 43-over per side contest. The Indian new-ball bowlers kept things tight in the powerplay, sending back the opener, Sumaiya Akter, back to the pavilion courtesy of an early strike from Renuka Singh in the first over of the game.
Sharmin Akhter joined Rubya Haider at the crease, and the duo led some sort of a recovery with a much-needed 31-run partnership for the 2nd wicket. The introduction of Deepti Sharma outside the powerplay worked immediately as she picked up the wicket of Rubya Haider (13 off 32 balls) to provide the 2nd breakthrough for India in the 10th over of the innings.
The rains arrived in the 13th over of the innings, and the game was further curtailed to a 27-over per side contest. The Bangladeshi batters managed to reduce the number of dot balls after the rain break by manipulating the ball into the gaps. A brilliant display on the field by Radha Yadav in the form of a direct hit, ended skipper Nigar Sultana Joty’s stay at the crease in the 17th over of the innings.
Vital contributions from Sharmin Akhter (36 off 53 balls), Sobhana Mostary (26 off 21 balls) and Ritu Moni (11 off 7 balls) took the Bangladesh total to 119/9 in their quota of 27 overs. Radha Yadav (6-0-30-3), Shree Charani (6-0-23-2), Deepti Sharma (5-2-24-1), and Amanjot Kaur (5-0-18-1) were impressive with the ball for India.
Pratika Rawal suffers an ankle injury
In an unfortunate turn of events, Pratika Rawal seemed to have twisted her ankle a little bit during India’s fielding effort. As a result, she limped off the field. India’s target was revised to 126; in the absence of Pratika Rawal, the management backed Amanjot Kaur (15* off 25 balls) to open the innings, alongside Smriti Mandhana (34* off 27 balls).
The duo were building the innings in a run chase quite nicely, with the Indian vice-captain, Smriti Mandhana, taking the aggressor’s route. The duo were scoring at a rate of over 6 runs an over, while also crossing the 50-run mark. The heavens opened up yet again, and heavy showers returned in the 9th over of the innings, with India at 57/0. The relentless weather ensured that there was no further cricketing action possible at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
As a result, yet another game in the ongoing 13th edition of the tournament was washed out, and both sides shared a point each.
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