Australia was rescued by Alana King and Annabel Sutherland to a decent total before Bangladesh lost the first One-Day International (ODI) of the three-match series by a huge 118 runs because to the visitors’ disciplined bowling effort.
After a slow start to their first bilateral tour to Bangladesh, Australia fell to 48/4 in the 19th over thanks to two early wickets taken by Sultana Khatun. When King appeared at the crease in the 41st over, the visitors had puffed and puffered their way to a modest 146/7. Despite this, the hosts continued to strike at regular intervals to break every budding partnership.
With five sixes and a few more boundaries in her 31-ball cameo worth 46*, she immediately gave Australia the momentum. She also contributed a crucial 67-run stand with half-centurion Sutherland (58* off 76) that helped Australia reach 213 from their allocated overs.
Bangladesh also lost a few top-order wickets early on, but they bounced back nicely to reach 70/2 before a stunning collapse. With Kim Garth returning two, Gardner grabbed three, and there were up to three run-outs, Bangladesh lost eight wickets for just 25 runs, handing the defending champions two points in the ICC Women’s ODI Championship.
Brief scores: Bangladesh 95 all out in 36 overs (Nigar Sultana 27; Ash Gardner 3-22, Kim Garth 2-26) lost to Australia 213/7 in 50 overs (Annabel Sutherland 58*, Alana King 46*, Nahida Akhter 2-27) by 118 runs.
