The veteran duo of Amy Satterthwaite and Suzie Bates shined with ball and bat respectively to guide New Zealand to their first win of the mega event.
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Women’s Cricket World Cup has been going on in its full swing. And, the hosts New Zealand has registered their first win. The veteran duo of Amy Satterthwaite and Suzie Bates shined with ball and bat respectively to guide New Zealand to their first win of the mega event. They managed a comfortable nine-wicket win over Bangladesh in the rain-affected 27-over-a-side match on Monday at the University Oval in Dunedin as well.
Constant rain had delayed the toss and almost came on the verge of getting abandoned as well which would have left both the teams without a win. However, soon the situation got changed, with the rain stopping and allowing play to begin also. Meanwhile, New Zealand elected to field first on winning the toss. The outfield was sluggish and wet, which made the situation difficult for the fielders to run around as well as for the bowlers to grip the ball well.
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Bangladesh got off to a steady start with openers Shamima Sultana and Fargana Hoque adding a 59-run stand in 9.2 overs before Sultana departed for a 36-ball 33 while attempting a slog sweep off Frances Mackay but ended up top-edging the shot to Lea Tahuhu at deep backward square leg and se did no mistake too.
However, with Fargana Hoque going strong, the scoreboard was ticking too and looked well-placed at 79 runs for 1 in 14 overs before Amy Satterthwaite’s double-attack left the team struggling in the middle. She dismissed Nigar Sultana and then Rumana Ahmed which triggered the visitors’ collapse in the 15th over.
Later, Frances Mackay effected two run-outs, including Fargana, who was batting well on 52. Her dismissal broke the shackle and that saw them struggling to score more. With some brilliant piece of fielding on the wet outfield, New Zealand soon turned the table and Bangladesh could only manage 140 for 8 as well.
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Under overcast conditions, while chasing, New Zealand got off to a steady start before Sophie Devine was got out for 14 by Salma Khatun in the seventh over. However, the in-form Amelia Kerr and Suzie Bates didn’t allow the visitors to take control.
With timely boundaries, they managed to rotate strikes quite well alongside taking threes too. In the process, Suzie Bates smashed her 28th half-century, and soon after, went past 1000 runs in world cups as well. Bangladesh, on the other hand, couldn’t restrict New Zealand as the second-wicket pair of Amelia Kerr and Suzie Bates sealed the deal for New Zealand, stitching an unbeaten 108-run stand as well.
After the win, Suzie Bates, who won the Player of the Match award, said: “It’s been a strange day, I was devastated in the morning when I opened the curtains and it was raining, just really grateful to Bangladesh who made it here and we got a game. Having that partnership with Amelia Kerr eased off a lot of pressure. Knowing this wicket, you can trust your shots and hit through to the line. I want to contribute as much as I can, we have a few massive games coming. My job is just to absorb the pressure at the top. Nice to have family and friends around to cheer for us from the stands.”
Brief Scores: Bangladesh 140/8 in 27 overs (Fargana Hoque 52, Shamima Sultana 33; Amy Satterthwaite 3-25, Hayley Jensen 1-18) lost to New Zealand 144/1 in 20 overs (Suzie Bates 79, Amelia Kerr 47) by 9 wickets.
