Bangladesh Women v Ireland Women, 1st ODI | Bangladesh go 1-0 up

According to captain Gaby Lewis, even though the Bangladesh-Ireland women's team was soundly defeated on paper today, there were many encouraging things to take away.

The Ireland seamers' frugal bowling performance kept them in the game for the most of the first innings; the Bangladeshi hitters may have been limited by a number of split opportunities in the field.

The young spin combination of Freya Sargent (2-51) and Aimee Maguire (1-62) worked hard but suffered some late order punishment, while Orla Prendergast (0-17) and Ava Canning (0-35) both bowled well early without success.

When on 96, Sharmin Akhter of the home team scooped a ball to Arlene Kelly at mid-off, falling just short of her first ODI century.

Gaby Lewis (5) and Sarah Forbes (25) both hit beautiful boundaries through the off side as Ireland's openers got off to a strong start, setting the score at 253 to win. However, they were immediately at a disadvantage when the visitors lost Lewis and Amy Hunter from successive balls in the third over.

Laura Delany (22) attempted to provide some resistance, Prendergast (19) shown flashes of genius, and Forbes looked strong during her 51-ball stay, but the tail quickly dropped away as Ireland lost 8-50 in 15 overs to be bowled out for 98.

MATCH SUMMARY

Bangladesh Women v Ireland Women, 1st ODI, Mirpur, 27 November 2024

Bangladesh 252-4 (50 overs; S Akhter 96; F Sargent 2-51)
Ireland 98 (28.5 overs; S Forbes 25; N Akhter 3-23)

Bangladesh won by 154 runs