Favorites Australia defeated Bangladesh by five wickets in howling winds in Wellington to maintain their perfect record at the Women’s Cricket World Cup on Friday. The result puts an end to Bangladesh’s diminutive hopes of securing a place in the semi-finals, although the Tigers pushed the six-time champions hard in a game that saw the innings cut to 43 overs due to weather. Bangladesh made 135-6 after being thrown into the fray, with Lata Mondal leading the way at 33 in a game that was essentially a dead rubber for Australia, which is guaranteed a play-off spot.
The wind was so strong at Wellington’s Basin Reserve that the bails wouldn’t stay on the stumps and the umpires made the rare decision to play on without them.
Players from both teams waited to bat, huddled on the sidelines wrapped in blankets, rubbing their hands together to ward off the cold.
“It’s definitely the toughest conditions I’ve played in,” said Australian captain Meg Lanning.
“I was freezing… today it was about finding a way to get through it and win. We definitely had to fight, Bangladesh put pressure on us and played extremely well.”
Bangladesh’s batters got off to a slow start under the appalling conditions, reaching 58-2 after 18 overs.
The departure of Sharmin Akhtar on 24 made it even more difficult to come up with runs, with Bangladesh scoring just eight of the next eight overs as the Australian spinners stepped up the pressure.
Mondal showed aggression late in the innings, but fell over in the final when Bangladesh finished in 135-6.
Beth Mooney anchored Australia’s innings with an unbeaten 66, supported by Annabel Sutherland’s 26 no outs, while Salma Khatun took 3-23 for Bangladesh.
Australia remains the only undefeated team at this year’s tournament and is an overwhelming favorite for a seventh title.
Bangladesh’s chances of progressing were always slim and required a series of unlikely results, but they will take heart from a win over Pakistan and close losses to the West Indies and South Africa in their debut World Cup campaign.
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They could still throw a spanner in the works by beating England on Sunday and eliminating the defending champion.
(This story was not edited by DailyExpertNews staff and was generated automatically from a syndicated feed.)
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