U-19 Women's World Cup | Bangladesh defeat Australia for first-time ever in ICC events
The inaugural ICC U19 Women's World Cup opened with a historic result as Bangladesh defeated the renowned Australian team for the first time ever in all of cricketing history. The young Tigresses bowled their counterparts for a lowly total before cruising to the target with seven wickets to spare.
January 14 was a day of records for cricket as history was scripted at the inaugural u-19 Women's World Cup being held in South Africa. Stalwarts Australia faced off minnows Bangladesh in the opener and in a surprising result, the Asian contingent emerged victorious to get off the tournament to a glorious start. The young Tigresses thus become the first Bangladesh team, men;'s or women's, to trump the Kangaroos in an ICC event.
Australia won the toss and elected to bat first but got off to a terrible start, losing two wickets within three overs. A solid but slow 76-run partnership between Claire Moore and Ella Hayward got the team to 98/3 with 21 balls to go. Amy Smith and skipper Rhys McKenna capped off the innings with quick cameos to set a competitive target of 131.
However, it did not prove to be enough as expected with Bangladesh cruising to 66/1 after 10 overs. Wicketkeeper-batter Dilara Akter provided stability in the middle overs with her 40(42) Shorna Akter and Sumaiya Akter provided the finishing touch. The former remained unbeaten on 23 off 18 deliveries as did the latter on 31 off 25 balls.
The win could go a long way in fulfilling Bangladesh's hopes of qualifying for the next stage, given they just need to remain in the top two of a four-team group that also contains Sri Lanka and the United States.