England Secure Victory Over Bangladesh in Women’s T20 World Cup Opener
England defeated Bangladesh by a score of 21 runs in Sharjah at the start of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024.
England’s innings began with a solid 41 from Danni Wyatt-Hodge, and their spin quartet, captained by Linsey Smith, hampered Bangladesh’s chase even though Sobhana Mostary gave it her all.
Key Performances and Match Results
England 118 for 7 (Wyatt-Hodge 41, Fahima 2-18) beat Bangladesh 97 for 7 (Mostary 44, Smith 2-11) by 21 runs.
Match Analysis
England’s T20 World Cup campaign got off to a winning start at Sharjah when their four-spinner attack shackled Bangladesh in a low-scoring encounter. Despite Sobhana Mostary’s career-best 44, Bangladesh was kept in check throughout on a sluggish, grippy surface as Danni Wyatt-Hodge hit 41 off 40 before England collapsed at the bat.
Heather Knight had chosen to put a score on the board because dew had not had much of an impact on the competition thus far. Along with the fearsome combination of Sophie Ecclestone, Charlie Dean, and Sarah Glenn, Linsey Smith—a sluggish left-armer who had been out of the team for six years—was chosen over Lauren Bell. As England had suggested in the build-up, Smith concluded with restricting figures of 2 for 11 and contributed to the run-out of Nigar Sultana. Smith bowled two in the powerplay.
In their first match against Scotland, Bangladesh had defended a score similar to this one, but although Fahima Khatun and Ritu Moni once again showed great skill with the ball, they paid a price for letting England get away with it during the powerplay. While Wyatt-Hodge and Maia Bouchier occasionally had luck on their side (Bouchier was much missed at 16), a gap crept up between the two teams when they shared a 48-run partnership in 6.4 overs.
The pursuit hardly ever decelerated, with the exception of Mostary and Nigar who both achieved double figures. Mostary kept the innings from stagnating even though Bangladesh was having trouble forming partnerships. Had England reviewed, she should have been out for nought then out for lbw on eight.
Bangladesh only scored one boundary during the powerplay, losing both of their openers to fall behind the pace at 20 for 2, in contrast to England’s early start. After replacing Murshida Khatun in the XI, Dilara Akter failed to sweep Dean and was leg before wicket in the fourth over. Shathi Rani then faced Smith, but was caught by the lunging Ecclestone at mid-off.
Nigar, the captain, and Mostary, who had scored the most in the win over Scotland, were left to finish the reconstruction. The latter twice danced out to hit Glenn for fours in the ninth over, indicating that Bangladesh was still in the game despite the rising run rate.
Midway through the innings, Bangladesh reached 42 for 2, and Mostary soon after struck her maiden boundary as the third-wicket combination attempted to continue.
However, Nigar was dismissed after he took a swing at Smith’s arm that was not there, and Glenn bowled Shorna Akter to put further strain on Mostary. After Dean was hit for six by her blow over deep midwicket, she reacted by making 40 from the next four overs. Even though it was only the second occasion in 36 T20Is that Ecclestone had been held wicketless, it was ultimately too much to expect.
Watchfully, England tried to assess a pitch they had never played on before in the opening exchanges. Wyatt-Hodge didn’t reach her first boundary until the fourth over; by then, she and opening partner Bouchier had experienced three close calls with their runs.
In the opening over, Bouchier avoided a straight shot with a nice tip-and-run to mid-off. Then, as Wyatt-Hodge attempted an even closer single, she was left sprawling face-first for the line and was only spared when Nahida Akter returned the ball to the non-striker’s stumps. And Wyatt-Hodge ought to have gone in the subsequent over, finding Moni in the covers before Bouchier threw him back, only for the fielder to completely botch the ball in.
Boundaries were better than dangerous singles, the couple quickly concluded. As the swing started to wear off, Bouchier climbed into Marufa Akter and struck back-to-back fours; however, she should have gone next ball when poking to point, where Rabeya Khan put down an easy chance.
Wyatt-Hodge swiped Fahima over square leg and then hammered four more through cover. After hitting two more fours off Nahida in the sixth over, England had reached 47 runs without losing a wicket during the powerplay.
It was then that Sharjah’s languid exterior started to impact the proceedings. Bangladesh’s abundance of pace-off alternatives proved to be a factor as England lost four wickets and scored 29 runs in the next 6.1 overs. Playing around Fahima’s legbreak to be plumb lbw, Nat Sciver-Brunt did not stay long after Bouchier was the first to depart, plinking Rabeya to mid-on.
The England captain was helped by Moni’s peach, which nipped the ball past the gate and struck middle and leg. Wyatt-Hodge and Knight stabilized the ship. The England team was struggling to survive in the oppressive heat at 76 for 4, and Wyatt-Hodge was walking by one from Nahida to be stumped miles from safety.
After sweeping off Nahida in the same over, Alice Capsey became the first batter outside the top two to reach the boundary, but when she reversed straight to point, she became Fahima’s second victim. While Amy Jones attempted to take advantage of being dropped on three, Danielle Gibson sighed and hit one four before slipping behind for seven off eleven. Ecclestone lofted the only six of the innings straight back down the field after finally managing a clean hit off the penultimate ball.
