Bangladesh women's cricket team, playing in their first ever ICC Women's World Cup game, failed to mark the occasion with a positive note as they fell to a 32-run defeat against South Africa at University Oval in Dunedin, New Zealand on Saturday.
Despite staying in the hunt for most of the game, and probably edging it at the innings break, some tidy work with the ball and in the field came unstuck during the run chase, as failure to score freely in the first half of their innings left the Bangladeshi girls with simply too much to do in the final stretch, and they failed to keep up.
Sent in to bat first, the Proteas women were bowled out for a moderate 207 in 49.5 overs, featuring a 71-run sixth-wicket stand between Chioe Tryon and Marizanne Kapp.
The pair helped carry the South African team total past 200 after coming together at 119/5.
Kapp contributed the team highest 42 runs off 45 balls with three boundaries, while Tryon scored a 40-ball 39, hitting one four and two sixes. Opener Laura made 41 runs off 53 deliveries with five hits to the fence in the other notable score.
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Left-arm pacer Fariha Islam Trisna, 19, was the most successful among the Bangladesh bowlers, taking a career-best 3/35.
Jahanara Alam and Ritu Moni claimed two wickets each conceding 28 and 36 runs respectively.
Chasing a moderate total, Bangladesh were dismissed for 175 in 49.3 overs, despite two good partnerships.
Openers Shamima Sultana and Akhter dropped anchor and Bangladesh lost their first wicket with 69 runs on the board - but they used up almost 20 overs in the process.
Sharmin contributed the highest 34 runs, but she struggled to get the bowlers away, taking 77 balls for a strike rate of just 44, despite four boundaries. Her partner Shamima fared marginally better in terms of strike rate, compiling 27 off 50 deliveries (strike rate 54).
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Even captain Nigar Sultana was tied down, scoring a painstaking 29 off 59 balls (strike rate 49) as runs dried up in the middle overs as well.
When Salma Khatun was dismissed cheaply for 2, Bangladesh were 113/6 in the 36th over, and the game looked out of reach. That brought Ritu Moni (27 runs off 38 balls) out to join Rumana Ahmed (21 off 32), and they rallied with a spunky partnership of 53 off 10 overs that brought Bangladesh within range again.
But when the partnership was broken, the required rate had grown to 10 an over, and that was always going to be a tall order for the tail, who managed to only add another nine runs to the scoreboard, as South Africa applied the finishing touches.
Ayabonga Khaka finished with figures of 4/43 off 10 overs, including three maidens, and in the process became the fifth South African to take 100 ODI wickets. It was also her second four-for in ODIs.
She was adjudged player of the match.
Bangladesh will play their next match against hosts New Zealand on Monday (Mar 7).