Heather Knight’s composed half-century guided England to a tough four-wicket victory over Bangladesh in Guwahati. Despite being restricted to 178, Bangladesh put up a strong fight with the ball, but England’s batting depth ensured their second consecutive win of the tournament. Knight remained unbeaten on 79 from 111 balls, sharing a crucial unbroken 79-run partnership with Charlie Dean for the seventh wicket, which carried the four-time champions to the top of the points table.
Bangladesh post a decent score on board
Asked to bat first, Sharmin Akhter provided Bangladesh with a solid start, scoring most of the early runs alongside Rubya Haider and hitting three boundaries in Lauren Bell’s third over. England responded swiftly as Haider mistimed a lofted shot off Bell, and Sultana gave Linsey Smith her first wicket by lofting a simple catch to cover. A quiet phase followed, with Bangladesh reaching 31 for 2 after 10 overs.
Sobhana Mostary then tried to up the scoring rate, finding boundaries frequently, including three in an over off Nat Sciver-Brunt. However, just as Bangladesh gained momentum, Sharmin was caught behind off Sophie Ecclestone. Mostary and Shorna attempted to rebuild, but Charlie Dean broke the stand by inducing a faint edge from Shorna, leading to another slow passage of play. Ritu Moni struggled to score, managing just 1 from 24 balls, and with Mostary also slowing down, Bangladesh reached 92 for 4 after 30 overs, having added only 16 runs in 10 overs.
A boundary drought of 61 balls ended when Mostary struck consecutive fours off Sciver-Brunt in the 31st over. Moni’s labored 36-ball 5 ended when she holed out to deep midwicket off Dean. Mostary, who survived on 49, went on to register her maiden ODI fifty but Bangladesh’s scoring again stalled, this time for 63 deliveries without a boundary. She broke the silence with a four off Alice Capsey in the 42nd over, but a flurry of wickets followed soon after. A late flourish from Rabeya Khan, who smashed an unbeaten 43 off 27 balls with six fours and a six, helped Bangladesh push their total past 175 before being bowled out.
England chase the target in a jiffy
England’s chase began with early drama. Amy Jones survived an lbw shout when Bangladesh opted not to review, but was soon trapped in front by Marufa Akter. Marufa then dropped Tammy Beaumont off Nahida Akhter, while Heather Knight successfully overturned a caught-behind decision through DRS, frustrating Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana. Beaumont and Knight began finding regular boundaries, but Beaumont’s innings ended when Marufa trapped her lbw, this time with Bangladesh winning the review. In the same over, Knight reversed another lbw decision on referral. Nat Sciver-Brunt then hit three fours in one Marufa over, taking England to 45 for 2 after 10 overs.
Sciver-Brunt dominated the scoring alongside a cautious Knight, who had a stroke of luck when the third umpire gave her the benefit of the doubt after a diving catch by Shorna Akter in Fahima Khatun’s over. The 40-run stand, built over 73 balls, ended when Sciver-Brunt chipped a Khatun delivery to midwicket for 32. Sophia Dunkley was trapped lbw in the same over, reducing England to 69 for 4. Emma Lamb fell soon after, caught at mid-on off Khatun, with the third umpire ruling Nahida’s catch clean.
Knight’s early scoring was slow, striking at below 40 for her first 25 runs, but Alice Capsey kept the scoreboard ticking with back-to-back boundaries, pushing England to 100 in the 28th over. The chase faltered again when Shanjida Akter Meghla trapped Capsey lbw, making it 103 for 6. Knight then began finding the fence and was well supported by Charlie Dean, reaching her fifty off 86 balls. Bangladesh suffered from the absence of Marufa on the field as the seventh-wicket pair guided England past 150, raising a fifty-run stand in the 41st over. They safely negotiated Khatun’s final overs—she finished with superb figures of 3 for 16—before taking England to victory in the 47th, with Dean striking the winning boundary.
Brief scores: Bangladesh 178 in 49.4 overs (Sobhana Mostary 60, Rabeya Khan 43*; Sophie Ecclestone 3-24, Charlie Dean 2-28) lost to England 182/6 in 46.1 overs (Heather Knight 79*, Nat Sciver-Brunt 32; Fahima Khatun 3-16, Marufa Akter 2-28) by 4 wickets.