Bangladesh Women vs Australia Women Match 9 Full Commentary

Welcome back for the chase. The Bangladeshi players spread out to the field and take their spots. They will need an inspirational bowling performance to even push the Aussies on the back foot. Beth Mooney and Georgia Voll are the two Australian openers. Marufa Akter will bowl the first over. Voll will take the strike. Off we go again!

... The Run Chase ...

Mid-innings Pitch Report - Mel Jones reporting from pitchside, noting that spin has been quite impressive throughout this T20 World Cup, but here at this venue, it was Australia's seamers who stole the show. She points to the lengths they hit consistently, working that hard short of a length area to great effect. Stresses that the pacers of Bangladesh will also have to operate in a similar way to achieve success on this pitch.

Well-rounded bowling shapes an easy chase - It was a perfectly coordinated, well-rounded effort from the Australian bowling department to dismantle the opposition. Kim Garth, Sophie Molineux, and Ellyse Perry led the wreckage with two wickets apiece, while Annabel Sutherland and Georgia Wareham maintained the chokehold with a wicket each as well. Chasing a tiny target of 78, the Aussies should face no trouble at all and will likely look to wrap things up as quickly as possible to significantly boost their Net Run Rate beyond the reach of their group rivals.

Word from the Australian camp - Kim Garth says it was a really pleasing effort from the bowling attack and describes the way they went about their work as awesome. She adds that restricting Bangladesh to around 80 was a super effort. About the slope, she mentions there has been a little bit of talk about the slope at the ground within the camp, and highlights that they picked up some useful insights from the players who featured at this venue during The Hundred. She notes they were aware there would potentially be something in the wicket early and that the plan was simple, to keep it at the top of the stumps and hit good lengths. Garth ends on a personal note, revealing her parents flew over to watch the game today, and says it is always awesome when they can be there to see her play.

Powerplay collapses and constant stumble - The tone was set early during a disastrous Powerplay, where Bangladesh crawled to just 22 runs in the first 6 overs while losing 3 crucial wickets, immediately putting them on the back foot. Wickets kept tumbling thereafter as the Australian bowlers relentlessly tightened the screws, choking the scoring rates and allowing no breathing room. Backed by an exceptional fielding unit that kept the pressure intact, Australia never let the innings get away, leaving only two Bangladeshi batters in double figures, with the skipper Nigar Sultana, topping the chart with 27, which highlights the batting unit's overall struggle.

Dominant Aussies stifle Bangladesh - The Australian camp will be absolutely delighted with their clinical bowling performance after restricting Bangladesh to a meager 77 for 8 in their 20 overs. The Tigresses' innings simply never found any rhythm or momentum, as they constantly lost wickets at regular intervals. Struggling to cope with the precise line and length of the tournament favorites, the Bangladesh batters found it incredibly difficult to rotate the strike or find the boundaries regularly.

Sultana Khatun walks out next.

Rabeya Khan is the next batter in.

That's a wrap - Well, it might be curtains on this game, but worry not. It's a triple header day and up next is another exciting showdown, from Headingley as India Women take on the Netherlands Women. The first ball is scheduled to be bowled at 1.30 pm GMT and our buildup to that game will also begin shortly. But from here, we signoff. Cheers!

Aussies prove they are a gold standard - Quite honestly. The six-time champions just proved too hot to handle for Bangladesh in each and every department and were barely challenged. They get back-to-back wins and will now hop to Southampton with spring in their steps to face the Netherlands and aim for a hat-trick of wins to make their championship stakes more stronger. As far as Bangladesh Women are concerned, after a nervy win against Scotland, this thrashing will hurt them a lot and will significantly dent their net run rate as well. With an aim of bouncing back strongly, they head to the Hampshire Bowl for their next challenge against their Asian counterparts, Pakistan. Both these games will be played on Sunday, 20th June.

The Australian captain - Sophie Molineux is full of praise for her bowlers, saying everyone bowled beautifully. She singles out Kim Garth for getting them off to a flying start and adds that everyone who came after her was equally impressive, calling it an outstanding day with the ball overall. She notes there was a bit of swing on offer and says the plan was to keep the ball up and extract something off the wicket. On Ellyse Perry, Molineux reveals she has been warming up in every single game since 2023, always prepared to contribute, and says conditions like these suit her perfectly. She adds that Perry bowled really well today, which came as no surprise. On Georgia Voll, she says Voll batted beautifully up front and showcased her skills for everyone to see in the middle. Molineux wraps up by keeping things grounded, saying the team cannot get too far ahead of themselves in what is a big tournament. Stresses that the focus remains on taking it one game at a time while enjoying big wins like this one when they come.

The captain of Bangladesh Women - Nigar Sultana, on the conditions and their batting display, admits that they lost too many wickets in the first ten overs, which made it very difficult for the rest of the batting unit to build from there. She is quick to add that the team is better than what they showed today and that the aim was always to post a good total to give themselves a chance with the ball. On the bowling plans, she details that they were hoping to have two experienced bowlers operating early and that Nahida's inclusion in the side was part of that plan. But adds that in T20 cricket, you have to score runs, and defending 70 to 80 is always going to be a tough ask for any bowling attack. On the challenges back home and the search for power hitters, Sultana says they have been searching for players who can bat with that kind of power in the final overs. She notes that Asian conditions tend to produce a lot of spinners but not necessarily the kind of explosive batters they need down the order. She acknowledges that there are some players in the setup who can bat that way, but says it has not always clicked when it matters most.

... Time to hear it from the two captains ...

A stroll in the park - With just 78 to chase, Australia got off to a very commanding start, with Voll playing the aggressor and Mooney taking a slightly more conservative approach, but together they did the smart thing. Aware that the square boundaries were longer and the straight hit more accessible at this ground, they targeted those shorter straight boundaries to reap the rewards, doing exactly what Bangladesh failed to do in their innings. Bangladesh needed to be smarter about where they targeted their shots. Instead, they repeatedly went square and looked a touch too hasty to play attacking cricket on a pitch where the seamers were doing all the talking. A little more patience early on could have made a significant difference, but it never came. Bangladesh will be disappointed that they could not make more of a contest of it, but there are positives to take away. Marufa's swing bowling showed real promise and looks set to become an increasingly potent weapon.

Australia seamers put Bangladesh to the sword - A clinical bowling display from Australia restricted Bangladesh to 77/8, with the seamers running riot on a surface that offered them plenty. Kim Garth got the ball rolling early with insane precision, and Ellyse Perry backed it up with a double-strike in her opening over that effectively ended Bangladesh as a contest. Losing three wickets inside five overs and never recovering from that early damage, the Bangladeshis played far too many dots and struggled to find boundaries. Nigar Sultana top-scored in a lone hand of resistance. Five of the eight wickets fell lbw as the Aussies kept the stumps in play throughout, and the plans and execution from the bowling attack were simply outstanding.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH - For her outstanding all-round performance, Ellyse Perry receives the award. She starred with incredible bowling figures of 2/14 in 3 overs and also stayed unbeaten on 19 in the chase. Ellyse Perry praises Kim Garth's early wickets and credits a strong, well-rounded team performance for setting up Australia's success, while expressing satisfaction with her own bowling contribution. Perry mentions that she embraces every opportunity to help the side, noting that the team's fun on-field dynamic keeps her highly motivated to train and continuously develop her game. Perry also lauds Georgia Voll's impressive batting performance during the chase, humorously adding that they managed it despite a lack of communication out in the middle. She notes the conditions today were quite different from Old Trafford and that it was about taking time to adjust and kept learning as the chase progressed.

Kangaroos crush the Tigresses - From the toss to hitting the winning runs, it was one-way traffic. This is a humongous win for Australia as they go to 4 points. The Mighty Aussies, as the tag goes, lived up to every bit of it today, putting on a display that underlined exactly why they are widely regarded as the most complete side in white-ball cricket. Got to feel for Bangladesh, though. Nothing went their way from start to finish, and their wait for a first win against Australia in T20Is grows a little longer after this one.

Just a matter of one hit for the Aussies. They need 4 runs to register their second win. Nahida Akter (1-0-14-0) is back on.

Could well be the final over of the game, then? Australia Women need just 9 runs to win. Rabeya Khan to bowl her first over.

Ritu Moni is introduced into the attack. She replaces Nahida Akter. Australia Women need just 21 runs from 78 balls.