Bangladesh Sealed A 3-0 Whitewash Over Ireland
Bangladesh sealed a whitewash over Ireland in the ODI series at home, boosting their chances of direct qualification for the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025.
Hosts Bangladesh wrapped up the series in style, securing a dominant seven-wicket victory over Ireland in the final ODI at Shere Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur to complete a 3-0 whitewash.
Sharmin Akhter continued her sublime form in the series, following up scores of 96 and 43 with a fifth ODI half-century that set the stage for the win. Fargana Hoque too continued her purple patch and made it three fifties in a row in the series as Bangladesh made light work of the chase.
Opting to bat first, Sultana Khatun knocked over Sarah Forbes cheaply. But skipper Amy Hunter and Gaby Lewis stitched a 48-run stand together before Rabeya Khan had Amy for 23 off 40 deliveries. But Gaby Lewis brought up a fifty and scored 52 off 79 deliveries losing stumps to Fahima Khatun.
After the departure of these two, Ireland couldn’t add runs sustainably. They kept losing wickets on a regular basis and Bangladesh kept chipping away with wickets.
Sultana Khatun and Nahida Akter shared two wickets each, while Fahima Khatun led Bangladesh with the ball as she had three wickets to her name to restrict Ireland to a paltry 185 runs.
In reply, Murshida Khatun fell cheaply but Fargana Haque and Sharmin Akhter joined together. The duo played brilliantly and almost outbatted the visitors. Both of them reached their fifties. Their marathon 142-run stand together changed the course of the game.
Fargana departed to Aimee Maguire after scoring 61 off 99 balls. While Sharmin Akhter was the highlight of Bangladesh's innings, top-scored with 72 off 88 deliveries to help Bangladesh ace the chase.
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