India came out all guns blazing and looked to get the full two points but rain played havoc and spoilsport to ruin everything and the match. India won the toss and elected to bowl first and they bowled really well to keep Bangladesh to a low total. Radha Yadav’s 3-wicket haul and Charani’s 2 wicket-haul kept the score down to 119/9 in 25 overs.
Chasing 126 for the win, India got off to a solid start as India made 57/0 in 8.4 overs before the heavens opened up and denied India the win. Having said all that, India deserved to finish 4th and will now play the Aussies in a blockbuster clash in Navi Mumbai on October 30th in Semi Final 2. England and South Africa meet in Semi final 1 in Guwahati.
Radha Yadav’s Impressive Bowling Display Limits Bangladesh to 119/9 in 27-over rain affected game.
Put into bat first, MST Sumaiya Akhter and Rubya Haider came out to open for Bangladesh while Renuka Singh Thakur had ball in hand for India. Renuka struck for India as Akhter departed for 2 off 6 balls. She bowled a length ball wide of off-stump. Akhter hung back and threw her hands at that failed to control the shot and ended up chipping a simple catch to Charani at short third man. Sharmin Akhter came out to bat next. Deepti Sharma had ball in hand from the other end and started with a maiden over.
Renuka continued and bowled a miserly over. Deepti bowled another tight over. Renuka continued as Sharmin drove her hard to the left of short extra cover as the ball raced away to the fence. Amanjot Kaur came into the attack next. She too started with a quiet over. Renuka continued and bowled a decent over. Amanjot continued as Sharmin broke the shackles as she swung through the line to get it from the middle of the bat to bat past mid-off for a boundary.
Renuka continued as Haider flicked it away past short midwicket for a boundary. Sharmin then crunched Thakur by throwing her hands at it and beat deep point for a boundary. Charani then dropped a tough chance at short third man as Sharmin was given a life off Thakur’s bowling. The powerplay ended with Bangladesh at 34/1 in 9 overs. Deepti came back into the attack and she removed Rubya Haider for 13 off 32 balls with a boundary to her name.
Deepti from around the wicket bowled full and tossed up outside the off-stump. Haider looked to clear the fielder at mid-off but failed to get close to the pitch of the ball. She ended up hitting straight up in the air. Harleen Deol backtracked a little bit from mid-off and took a simple catch to get the first wicket. Nigar Sultana came out to bat next. Nallapureddy Charani came onto the attack. She bowled a quiet over to start her spell. Amanjot bowled a quiet over as well.
Charani bowled two balls of the in the 13th over when the heavens opened up as rain came and delayed proceedings for a few hours. Heavy downpour happened after which play was reduced to 27 overs a side from 43 overs a side initially. Charani resumed proceedings as we had a comedy of errors and a run out was missed as well. Radha Yadav came into the attack for the first time. She started with a decent over as well. Charani continued and bowled a decent over. Radha kept things tight as well.
Amanjot returned to the bowling crease. Sultana was then run out for 9 off 24 balls against the run of play as Radha did well to throw down the stumps at the bowler’s end with Sultana caught napping. Sobhana Mostary came out to bat next and got off the mark straightaway. Charani changed ends as Sharmin survived a close LBW call as umpire’s call saved the batter.
Deepti came back for another spell. Mostary cut away powerfully as she made room on the leg side and cut it hard to deep point for a boundary. Radha came back into the attack as Mostary pounced on the short ball as she picked the length early and went deep in her crease and pulled it to deep midwicket for a boundary. Bangladesh reached 73/3 in 20 overs.
Deepti continued as Mostary took the attack to Deepti for back-to-back boundaries first through cover point region and then over extra cover for a boundary. Sharmin then stepped down the track and heaved it away to the left of Rawal at deep midwicket for a boundary. Rawal over ran the ball and twisted her ankle and it looked nasty as she went off the field being assisted by others.
Radha then removed Mostary for 26 off 21 balls with 4 fours to her name. Radha tossed it up around the middle stump line. Mostary stepped down the track and looked to smash it over the top of mid-off and mistimed it from the toe end of her blade. Harleen at mid-off took a good catch. Shorna Akter came out to bat next and got off the mark straightaway.
Amanjot then got rid of Shorna for 2 off 3 balls. Amanjot bowled a length ball around middle and leg stump, Shorna cleared her front leg and swung her bat across the line. Shorna got beaten on the inside edge and the ball rattled the stumps. Nahida Akter came out to bat next and got off the mark with a brace. Radha continued and got rid of Nahida for 3 off 5 balls. Radha tossed up delivery full around the middle stump line. Nahida got down on one knee and went for the wild slog sweep. She missed it on the inside edge and the ball rattled the stumps. Rabeya Khan came out to bat next and got off the mark with a brace as the 100 came up for Bangladesh in 24 overs.
Charani struck again as she removed Sharmin for 36 off 53 balls with 4 fours to her name. Charani from over the wicket tossed it up around off-stump. Sharmin cleared her front leg and swung her bat across the line and she lost her shape and got a top edge in the process. Reddy from deep midwicket sprinted forward and she kept her eyes on the ball throughout the moment. She dived full length and grabbed a fabulous catch with both hands. Ritu Moni came out to bat next and got off the mark straightaway. Bangladesh were 104/7 in 25 overs. ‘
Radha got another as she removed Rabeya Khan for 3 off 5 balls Radha bowled a length ball around off that came in with the arm. Rabeya stepped down the track and looked to flick it away on the onside. She missed it on the inside edge and the ball crashed onto the middle stump. Nishita Akter Nishi came out to bat next. Radha thought she had got Nishi and the umpire gave it OUT LBW but the batter reviewed and ball tracking showed it to be bouncing over the stumps. The decision was overturned to NOT OUT as the batter survived. Radha finished her spell.
Charani came to bowl the final over as Moni took the aerial route and stepped down the track to get to the pitch of the ball and tonked it over wide long-off for the maximum. Charani hit back and got rid of Moni for 11 off 7 balls with a maximum to her name. Charani tossed it up full around the middle and leg stump, Moni stepped down the track and looked to loft it over wide long-off fence. She stayed leg side of the ball and lost her shape in the process. She ended up slicing in the air. Jemimah at extra cover settled underneath it and took the catch.
Marufa Akter came out to face the final ball of the innings and got a brace to end the innings. Nishi remained unbeaten on 4 off 5 balls while Marufa remained unbeaten on 2 off 1 ball as Bangladesh finished on 119/9 in 27 overs. 8 extras given by India.
Radha Yadav was the pick of the bowlers for India with figures of 3/30 in 6 overs. Nallapureddy Charani chipped in with 2/23 in 6 overs. Renuka Singh Thakur chipped in with 1/23 in 5 overs. Deepti Sharma chipped in with 1/24 in 5 overs. Amanjot Kaur chipped in with 1/18 in 5 overs. This meant that India needed a revised target of 126 runs in 27 overs to win this game.
India’s makeshift openers get off to a solid start before rain plays spoilsport to abandon the game.
Chasing 126 for the win in 27 overs, Smriti Mandhana walked out to bat with makeshift opener Amanjot Kaur for India while Marufa Akter had ball in hand for Bangladesh. Marufa bowled a probing first over and kept things tight. Nishita Akter Nishi had ball in hand from the other end. She bowled a quiet over as well. Marufa broke the shackles by gifting away 5 wides as a bonus to the batting side.
Amanjot then played a short of authority as she stood tall and whipped it away through midwicket and mid-on for a boundary. Nishi continued as Mandhana took the aerial route as she got down on one knee and slog swept it towards midwicket region for a boundary. Mandhana then used her feet to step down the track and thumped it straight over the bowler’s head for a boundary. Mandhana was on a roll as she got down on one knee and swept it away past short fine leg fielder. She rounded off the over by rocking back and played the short arm jab past right of backward square leg for a boundary. 16 runs off the over.
Nahida Akter came onto the attack next. Mandhana creamed her through the covers for a boundary. The powerplay finished with India at 38/0 in 5 overs. Rabeya Khan came onto bowl next. Amanjot got into the act as he went up and over mid-on and away for a boundary. Nishi continued as Mandhana stepped down the track and drilled it along the ground to long-off. The fielder took the eyes of the ball and misfielded to let the ball go away to the fence. The 50 came up for India in 6.4 overs. Nigar Sultana dropped a tough chance standing up against Nahida as Mandhana got a life.
Ritu Moni was introduced into the attack next. She bowled a decent over with some sloppy fielding from Bangladesh. Rabeya continued and there was an appeal for LBW against Amanjot which the umpire declined. The review was taken and it was Umpire’s call on hitting the stumps as that saved the batter. Amanjot got a reprieve again as Sultana dropped the catch off Rabeya’s bowing as she failed to hold onto the catch. It is her 5th drop catch of the tournament. After this, the rain got heavier as the players left the field with the score reading 57/0 in 8.4 overs.
The rain had the final say as umpires decided to call off the game with both teams getting one point each. Mandhana remained unbeaten on 34 off 27 balls with 6 fours to her name. Amanjot Kaur finished with an unbeaten 15 off 25 balls with 2 fours to her name. 8 extras given by Bangladesh in 8.4 overs. 5 bowlers used by Bangladesh and none could make the breakthrough in these 8.4 overs. So, the league stage ends with a no result with India finishing on 7 points while Bangladesh finish with 3 points.
What Lies Ahead.
The league stage is done and dusted and we are set for the semi-finals on 29th and 30th October 2025. On 29th, it is going to be England vs South Africa in Guwahati and then India vs Australia on 30th in Navi Mumbai. Both the semi-final and final have their own reserve days.
Let’s see how the tournament pans out as we enter the semi-final stage and the last week of the tournament. May the best team win.
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