BAN v IND: Marufa Akter, Rabeya Khan help Bangladesh clinch first-ever ODI victory over India

Dhaka: Fine performances from fast-bowler Marufa Akter and leg-spinner Rabeya Khan helped Bangladesh clinch their first-ever ODI victory over India with a 40-run win in the first ODI at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

Electing to bowl first, debutant Amanjot took four wickets as India restricted Bangladesh to 152 in 43 overs, with the game being reduced to 44 overs a side due to a two-hour rain interruption.

In a chase of 154 according to the DLS method, Marufa struck twice at the start and middle overs respectively to pick 4-29 while Rabeya took 3-30 to bowl out India for just 113 in 35.3 overs.

For India, who suffered their first loss of the ICC Women’s Championship cycle, they were hit hard by another disappointing showing from the batters on a slow and turning pitch. Smriti Mandhana began with two pulled fours through midwicket off Marufa. But the pacer bounced back by having Smriti chase a wide delivery and nick behind to the keeper, who made a dive to her left to complete the catch.

Priya Punia, who was playing in her first ODI since March 2021, fell after flicking against Marufa to mid-on, who dived forward to complete a good catch. India lost their third wicket in the first 10 overs when left-arm spinner Nahida Akter trapped captain Harmanpreet Kaur lbw.

India’s slide continued as Rabeya castled Yastika Bhatia and had Jemimah Rodrigues mistiming her pull to mid-on. Their hopes rested on Amanjot and Deepti Sharma, who stitched a 30-run partnership off 71 balls, investing a lot in strike rotation to get India back in the game.

Marufa was brought back in the attack in the 29th over and made her captain Nigar Sultana’s decision count by having Amanjot nick behind, with the all-rounder not happy and having a word with the umpire on his decision.

On the very next ball, Marufa castled Sneh Rana for a golden duck with an inswinging yorker, followed by Rabeya having Deepti pull straight to short mid-wicket to complete a team hat-trick as India went from 91/5 to 91/8. Soon after, Pooja Vastrakar nicked behind off Sultana while Anusha Bareddy was run-out to give Bangladesh one of their most unforgettable days on the field.

Previously, the wet outfield caused a 20-minute delay in the toss, with the start time pushed by 10 minutes. Bangladesh had a horror start to their chase as a bad mix-up resulted in Sharmin Akter’s run-out for a duck after playing 18 balls.

Amanjot had Murshida Khatun caught at mid-off in the next over before Nigar and Fargana Hoque added 49 runs for the third wicket on either side of rain interruption. But after play resumed, Nigar and Fargana struggled to get going.

As a result, Fargana nicked behind off Amanjot, while Ritu Moni mistimed a pull-off leg-spin all-rounder Devika Vaidya to midwicket. Amanjot again provided the breakthrough for India by trapping Nigar lbw and completed her four-fer by having Rabeya chip a catch to cover.

Sultana Khatun hit a few boundaries off Pooja to take Bangladesh past 100 before being castled by Devika. After Marufa was run-out by Devika, Bangladesh’s innings ended at 152 with debutant Shorna Akter absent hurt. They were also aided by India bowling 19 wides as Bangladesh pulled off a stunning win, thanks to their young bowlers Marufa and Rabeya.

Brief scores:

Bangladesh 152 in 43 overs (Nigar Sultana 39, Fargana Hoque 27; Amanjot Kaur 4-31, Devika Vaidya 2-36) beat India 113 in 35.5 overs (Deepti Sharma 20, Marufa Akter 4-29, Rabeya Khan 3-30) by 40 runs via DLS method

–IANS