New Zealand thrash Bangladesh by nine wickets in rain-hit match

DUNEDIN: New Zealand cruised to a nine-wicket win over Bangladesh in a rain-affected match on Monday to put their Women’s Cricket World Cup campaign back on track.

The New Zealanders, who suffered a shock loss to the West Indies in their opening match, looked totally in control in a fixture where the innings were reduced to 27 overs due to heavy rain.

Set a target of 141, they finished on 144-1 with seven overs to spare as Suzie Bates smashed 79 off 69 balls and Amelia Kerr made 47 off 37.

Captain Sophie Devine said New Zealand needed to “move on quickly” from the West Indies defeat but admitted she feared the match against Bangladesh would be washed out, in a potentially disastrous blow to their hopes of making the knockouts.

“We know that this competition’s going to be tight so we’re certainly happy we managed to get a win,” she said.

Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana said the cold, wet conditions affected her players.

“We’ve never played in these conditions because of the rain,” she said. “Our bowlers couldn’t grip the ball properly and we couldn’t see the ball properly on the ground, so it was very tough.”

She said the Bangladesh batters struggled to form partnerships but hailed her team’s fighting spirit.

New Zealand won the toss and opted to bowl in the first ever ODI meeting between the teams.

Bangladesh’s openers made a dynamic start to their 27-over innings, intent on improving the sluggish run rate that cost dearly in a 32-run loss to South Africa in their tournament opener.

Shamima Sultana made 33 off 36 balls before departing, then Amy Sattert­hwaite put the brakes on Bangladesh’s scoring with two wickets in her first over and finished with three for 25.

Fargana Haque managed 52 off 63 balls but was run out by Frances Mackay, who performed spectacularly in the field.

Devine was dismissed cheaply for 14 but Bates and Kerr combined for a decisive 108-run stand.

“It’s been a strange day” said Bates, who was player of the match. “It’s my home town, I’ve never played here and this morning I opened the curtains and I was devastated. Once I got out there it was just about having fun and having that partnership with [Amelia] and absorbing that pressure.”

Brief scores:

BANGLADESH 140-8 in 27 overs (Fargana Hoque 52, Shamima Sultana 33; Amy Satterthwaite 3-25); NEW ZEALAND 144-1 in 20 overs (Suzie Bates 79, Amelia Kerr 47).