England make it to the semi-final after thumping Bangladesh by 100 runs

A patient half-century from Sophia Dunkley followed by three-wicket hauls from Sophie Eccelstone and Charlie Dean led England to a victory against Bangladesh by 100 runs at the Basin Reserve in Wellington on Sunday (March 27). With that win defending champions England have booked their spot in the semi-final along with Australia and South Africa. 

Heather Knight won the toss and opted to bat first as England rested as Freya Davies came in for Anya Shrubsole, and Charlie Dean marked her return in the playing XI. Bangladesh also made a change as Fahima Khatun returned to the side. Tammy Beaumont and Danielle Wyatt opened the batting for England with the place in the knockout stage on the line. Jahanara Alam gave Bangladesh an early breakthrough as Wyatt missed a cut shot, and Fahima took an easy catch at point. Two overs later Salma ended captain Knight’s short stay at the crease as Nigar Sultana managed a sharp catch behind the stumps. 

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From the precarious position of 26 for two, the defending champions needed a strong partnership to bail them out. England could only score 37 runs in the powerplay as Beaumont and vice-captain Natalie Sciver were watchful at the beginning of their partnership. Such was the pressure exerted from Bangladesh that Beaumont and Sciver could only score one boundary in their 60 runs partnership off 101 balls. Before England could make it to the halfway mark, they lost Beaumont for 33. A full delivery forced her to drive and Beaumont found Fahima at extra cover, who took her second catch of the match.

Fahima trapped Sciver in front in the next over and at the end of the 26th over, England were struggling for 96 for four. Dunkley found a partner in Amy Jones as England crossed three figures in the 27th over. She attacked the Bangladesh bowling attack right from the get-go and that gave Jones a breathing room to establish her innings. The youngster brought up the partnership of 50 runs with a cracking boundary over mid-off, which also helped England get past 150 in the 39th over.

England tried to change the gears after going past 150 with Dunkley taking on the relatively less experienced Bangladesh bowling attack. Lata Mondal provided an important wicket to break the partnership of 72 runs as Jones found Salma at extra cover. That didn’t stop Dunkley from bringing up her first World Cup half-century off 61 balls. Dunkley and Katherine Brunt went after Nahida Akhter and amassed 14 runs off her last over. Salma sent Dunkley back to the pavilion after the 23-year-old made 67 off 72 balls. Brunt and Sophie Eccelstone added 20 runs in the final two overs to take England past 230. 

In reply, Bangladesh started their chase with a horrible mix-up, which almost cost them a wicket in the first over. Sharmin Akhter bounced back from that shaky start to get off a mark with the boundary. In the absence of Shrubsole, Sciver took the ball from the other end and gave away four runs from her first over. Brunt bowled three maidens in her first spell of five overs as Akhter manage to hit back-to-back boundaries off Sciver. Knight introduced Ecclestone just before the end of the powerplay as Bangladesh scored 23 off it.

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The dot-ball pressure didn’t result in wickets for England straightaway as Bangladesh’s opening pair were careful. Ecclestone’s patience finally paid off as she cleaned up Sharmin with a quicker delivery. Shamima Sultana miscued a lofted drive on 23, which gave Eccelstone her second wicket of the day. Halfway through the innings, Bangladesh were 65 for two and needed 170 off the last 25 overs. Freya Davies and Dean continued to put pressure on Bangladesh batters, which led to Dean’s first wicket of the day in the form of Fargana Hoque for 11.

Nigar tried to catch up with the required rate but top-edged trying to play a sweep shot. Davies took a diving catch to end the Bangladesh captain's innings for 22 off Ecclestone.  Lata Mondal provided a fightback with 45-ball-30 but, that only delayed the inevitable for Bangladesh. None of the other Bangladesh batters could go score in double digits as Bangladesh were bowled out for 134 in the 48th over.

Ecclestone was rewarded for her accuracy as she took three wickets in the 99th match for England. Nigar's wickets in the 36th over off Ecclestone led to a collapse as Bangladesh lost seven wickets for just 38 runs. Dean, playing her fourth match of the World Cup impressed with her bowling performance yet again with three wickets. She has only played four matches in the World Cup and has 10 wickets to her name already. Spinners dominated the day for England as Ecclestone, Dean, and Knight combined to take seven out of 10 wickets. 

Brief Score

England 234 for six in 50 overs (Sophia Dunkley 67, Natalie Sciver 40; Salma Khatun 2/46) beat Bangladesh (Lata Mondal 30, Sharmin Akhter 23; Sophie Eccelstone 3/15) by 100 runs