Bangladesh Women Bounce Back, Thrash Zimbabwe by Nine Wickets in Ajman as Dilara Hits Unbeaten 68
A day after a heavy defeat to Pakistan, Bangladesh bounced back in style. In the Women's Emerging Nations Trophy in Ajman, Nigar Sultana Joty's Bangladesh beat Zimbabwe by nine wickets.
Bangladesh had opened the tournament in Ajman on the previous day with an eight-wicket loss to Pakistan. The very next day, Joty's team sealed a comfortable nine-wicket win over Zimbabwe with 15 balls to spare.
Chasing 132, the opening pair all but settled the match. Sathi Rani and Dilara Akter put on 104 runs in 78 balls for the first wicket.
Zimbabwe pacer Mitchell Mavunga broke the stand with the last ball of the 13th over, removing Sathi, who made 45 off 43 balls with six fours.
Sharmin Akter Supta, batting at number three, then shared an unbroken 28-run stand off 27 balls with Dilara to take Bangladesh home.
Dilara Akter's unbeaten 68 off 49 balls was the match's highest score. Her innings included eight fours, and she was named player of the match.
Earlier, Zimbabwe won the toss and batted first, finishing on 131 for seven in 20 overs. Chipo Mugeri Tiripano top-scored with 40 off 30 balls, hitting two fours and a six. Bangladesh's Rabeya Khan took three wickets for 26 runs in four overs.
In the Group B standings, Pakistan lead with a full four points from two matches. Bangladesh are third with two points from one win and one loss in two matches. The Netherlands, in second place, also have two points after beating Thailand by five wickets in their only match. The Dutch net run rate is +0.226, while Bangladesh's is -0.324. Thailand and Zimbabwe, in fourth and fifth place, are yet to win a match.
