England survived a few nervy moments to come out with a four-wicket win over Bangladesh in a Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 league stage fixture on Tuesday at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati.
Sophie Ecclestone’s three-wicket haul and a crucial partnership between Heather Knight and Charlie Dean saw off the victory for the four-time champion.
Despite losing the toss, skipper Nigar Sultana Joty revealed that Bangladesh did want to bat first. But the side lost Rubya Haider Jhelik and Joty early on, with the latter walking back for nought.
Sharmin Akter was going strong on 30, but soon after the flood lights came on and the players broke for a drink, the batter edged Ecclestone to Amy Jones behind the stumps. The left-arm tweaker put the squeeze on Bangladesh with three run-less overs, two of which were wicket maidens.
AS IT HAPPENED: ENG-W vs BAN-W Highlights
Skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt lent a helping hand to Ecclestone’s miserly spell (3/24) with tight field layouts, like deploying Tammy Beaumont at silly point, which frustrated the batters. This resulted in Bangladesh scoring just 16 runs in the 21-30 over period.
Joty could be seen shouting instructions from the dressing room, perhaps asking her batters to show more intent. Sobhana Mostary’s measured 60 and Rabeya Khan’s counter-attacking 43 paid heed to their captain, and Bangladesh mustered up 178 in 49.4 overs.
Bangladesh bowlers had restricted Pakistan to a low total in their last match; now they had to defend one. And, Marufa Akter swung the ball early to remove both England openers and give her side the perfect start.
After Marufa’s double strike, it was leg-break bowler Fahima Khatun who danced her way through the English middle-order. She saw the back of settled Sciver-Brunt and Sophia Dunkley in the same over, before removing Emma Lamb. Between the 11th and 20th overs, the chasing side managed only 25 runs.
Then, Shanjida Akther Maghla marked her World Cup debut with Alice Capsey’s wicket, and Bangladesh seemed to be in control.
However, the 79-run partnership between Knight and Dean turned the match. The former skipper, almost mirroring Mostary’s knock, trudged to 50 runs in 86 balls after enjoying three reprieves to propel England to the top of the standings.
The scores:
Bangladesh 178 in 49.4 Overs (Sharmin Akter Supta 30, Sophe Eccallestonne 3/24) Lost to England 182/6 in 46.1 overs (heather knight 79 No, Nat scima Khatun 32, Fahima Khatun 3/16) Toss: England; pom: Heather knight.
Published on Oct 07, 2025
