Women’s Asia Cup 2022: Dominant Bangladesh thrash Thailand to win campaign opener

Bangladesh dominated the game from the beginning till the end, as they ruled the first innings by dismissing Thailand for mere 82 runs, and then chased it down with 74 balls. Combined efforts by the bowlers, followed by power-hitting by the top-order batters led the Asia Cup hosts to win the first contest by a whopping nine wickets.

Winning the toss, Thailand opted to bat first, but the game did not turn out the way they had expected it to be. Shanjida Akter gave Bangladesh an early breakthrough when she dismissed Thailand’s opening batter Nannapat Koncharoenkai for a low score of 12-ball eight runs. Shohely Akhter struck next to dismiss Thailand skipper Naruemol Chaiwai, and the other bowlers kept the batters in check.

Shohely Akhter picked up her next late in the 12^th over, but the Thailand batters had been struggling to score runs. Middle-order batter Phannita Maya put up a show, and hit the big shots too, but could not preserve her wicket in the game. The Bangladesh bowlers kept picking wickets on regular intervals, broke Thailand’s momentum, and dished them out in the final over for mere 82 runs.

Maya was the top-scorer for Thailand with 26 runs under her name, but the batting unit came crashing down in the first innings, giving Bangladesh an early advantage. As for the hosts, Rumana Ahmed added three wickets under her belt, whereas Nahida Akter, Shanjida Akter, and Shohely Akhter claimed two wickets each, with Salma Khatun finishing with one scalp.

Shamima Sultana leads Bangladesh's chase 

Wicketkeeper-batter Shamima Sultana and Fargana Hoque started with the chase for Bangladesh, with the former taking charge of the scoring from the word go. The duo shared a 69-run opening partnership before Sultana fell short of just one run from getting a deserving half-century. Her knock of a 30-ball 49 was studded with 10 fours, which did wonders for Bangladesh.

The top-order batters completed the run-chase, with skipper Nigar Sultana finishing off with a huge six. Bangladesh bagged their first points on the points table by winning their campaign opener, and the first game of the Women’s Asia Cup 2022.