India Beats Bangladesh in Women’s T20 World Cup

India secured a five-wicket victory over Bangladesh at Emirates Old Trafford to keep their semi-final qualification campaign on track. Despite a sloppy display in the field that featured multiple dropped catches, India successfully chased down a sub-par target of 137 to claim two vital group points.

India 139 for 5 (Shafali 53, Rodrigues 26, Moni 2-29) beat Bangladesh 136 for 8 (Ferdous 33, Sultana 32, Radha 3-28) by five wickets

An unconvincing Indian side maintained their push for a semi-final spot by registering a five-wicket win over Bangladesh. The final scorecard reflected a more comfortable narrative than the actual events that unfolded on the field.

The Indian team dropped three early catches and committed several fielding lapses. They also benefited from multiple reprieves during their batting innings.

However, India pulled the contest back through their death-overs bowling on a flat Old Trafford surface, limiting Bangladesh to an inadequate 136 for 8.

Shafali Verma anchored the pursuit by scoring her second half-century in three tournament innings. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur then guided the team across the line with 19 deliveries remaining.

The victory was secured despite losing more wickets than the team hierarchy would have preferred.

This result moves India two points clear of South Africa and Bangladesh into second place in Group 1.

However, a critical final group encounter against Australia looms on Sunday, where a semi-final spot will be directly on the line.

Bangladesh remain mathematically alive in the tournament but saw their qualification chances severely damaged. Their final group match against South Africa takes place this Sunday at Lord’s.

India drop three catches in four balls

India endured a disastrous start under clear skies, allowing Bangladesh to capitalize during the powerplay phase.

Renuka Singh, who replaced Arundhati Reddy in the starting lineup, removed Dilara Akter via a catch at deep square leg.

Following the breakthrough, Juairiya Ferdous hit the fast bowler straight back down the ground for four during the fourth over.

Three deliveries later, Ferdous launched Renuka toward deep midwicket. Radha Yadav, who previously dropped Marizanne Kapp twice against South Africa, spilled a routine opportunity as the ball crossed the boundary line.

The fielding performance collapsed further in the subsequent over as Nandani Sharma spilled two chances off both Sobhana Mostary and Ferdous within a space of three balls.

The initial mistake occurred at cover when Mostary hit an aerial drive on 1, prompting the captain to move Nandani to short third man.

The ball followed the fielder immediately as Ferdous top-edged a sweep shot. Nandani dived to her left and adjusted both hands but failed to secure the ball.

Ferdous middled the next delivery for a boundary on the leg side. Mostary then guided the ball past point for another four, yielding 10 runs from the over and raising the scoring rate to 6.40.

India fight back in the end

India struggled with their bowling disciplines alongside their poor catching display, failing to maintain consistent lines and lengths.

The powerful Ferdous found the boundary against Shafali and Nandani, while Mostary scored at a rapid pace.

The second-wicket partnership progressed past 50 runs before Nandani caught a sharp return chance to dismiss Ferdous for 33 off 31 balls.

Deepti Sharma accepted a routine catch at mid-off shortly after to dismiss Mostary for 22.

Captain Nigar Sultana ensured the Bangladesh run rate remained steady, finding gaps off Nandani to accumulate 17 runs from the 14th over.

With Bangladesh positioned to exceed the 140-mark, India’s spin department triggered a batting collapse.

While Deepti restricted the scoring, Radha Yadav and N. Sree Charani engineered a collapse where Bangladesh lost five wickets for 28 runs across the final four overs.

Radha finished with figures of 3-28, while Sree Charani claimed 2-21 to restrict the opposition.

Shafali gives India 63 in the powerplay

Bangladesh committed their own fielding errors at the beginning of the Indian run chase.

Sultana dropped Shafali on 4 in the opening over off Marufa Akter, before conceding four runs from a Smriti Mandhana under-edge.

However, the Bangladesh fielders rectified their errors quickly when Rabeya Khan took a diving catch at cover to dismiss Mandhana for 8, breaking the 31-run opening stand.

Shafali dominated the strike during the opening overs, hitting clean drives through the ‘V’.

She launched a six over long-on and executed precise boundaries through cover and mid-off against Marufa to establish a high-tempo start.

Bangladesh failed to contain her scoring as Shafali repeatedly targeted the cover boundaries using her powerful bottom hand.

She hit Sanjida Akter for consecutive boundaries over mid-off to finish the powerplay with 63 runs on the board.

Shafali struck seven fours and one six during the opening six overs, eclipsing the five boundaries managed by Bangladesh in their respective powerplay.

India stutter their way to victory

Shafali completed a 29-ball half-century by punching Rabeya for a boundary, putting India in a position to secure a comprehensive victory.

However, the team’s middle-order vulnerabilities resurfaced for the fourth consecutive match.

Shafali was stumped for 53 off 34 balls after misjudging a delivery from Rabeya Khan.

The team management promoted Richa Ghosh ahead of Jemimah Rodrigues to accelerate the chase and improve their Net Run Rate.

While Ghosh struck two early boundaries, both Yastika Bhatia—who made a quick 23 off 18 balls—and Ghosh fell in consecutive overs to Ritu Moni before the score reached 100.

The scoreline of 98 for 4 nearly worsened as boundaries stopped and the batting pair gave up multiple run-out opportunities.

Rodrigues ran to the keeper’s end and found herself stranded, but Nahida Akter failed to collect the incoming throw, allowing the batter to escape via a dive.

Four deliveries later, Harmanpreet was caught short at the bowler’s end following a defensive push, but Shorna Akter missed the stumps.

Rodrigues responded to the pressure by scoring 20 runs off her next five balls, hitting three fours and one six to bring India within nine runs of the target.

Rodrigues failed to close out the match, skying a catch to short third man off Moni for 4. Harmanpreet and Deepti completed the remaining runs in the 17th over to push the final score to 139 for 5.

Future Outlook

The victory leaves Group 1 finely poised ahead of the final round of group stage matches on Sunday. India must address their fielding lapses and middle-order inconsistencies before facing defensive champions Australia, where a defeat could see them eliminated on Net Run Rate. Meanwhile, Bangladesh must defeat South Africa at Lord’s and rely on other results to maintain any mathematical hope of reaching the knockout stages.

FAQs

What was the final score in the India vs Bangladesh match?

Bangladesh scored 136 for 8 in their 20 overs. India chased down the target, finishing on 139 for 5 in 16.5 overs to win by five wickets.

Who was the top scorer for India during the run chase?

Opener Shafali Verma was the top scorer for India, smashing an explosive 53 runs off 34 deliveries, including eight boundaries and one six.

Which Indian bowler achieved a historic milestone during the game?

N. Sree Charani took 2-21 to become India’s highest-ever wicket-taker in a single edition of the Women’s T20 World Cup, raising her tournament total to 12 wickets.

What are the qualification scenarios for both teams after this match?

India sits second in Group 1 and faces a must-win match against Australia on Sunday to guarantee a semi-final spot. Bangladesh must beat South Africa on Sunday and hope other results favor them to qualify.