Ellyse Perry stars as Australia cruises to victory over Bangladesh; Adam Zampa spins Australia to victory in first T20 versus Bangladesh
Steve Barrett
Ellyse Perry made an inauspicious return to the bowling alley to lead Australia to a nine-wicket win over Bangladesh in the women’s T20 World Cup and almost reach the semi-finals.
Perry took two wickets in his first five balls and finished with 2-14 in three overs as the Tigers were restricted to a paltry 8-77 in 20 overs after the Australians elected to bowl at Leeds on Wednesday.
Australia took advantage of the positive, green-toned Headingley pitch and hit the target with 63 to spare to take 1-78.
Perry was not among the six bowlers used in Australia’s tournament opener against South Africa and had bowled just 14 overs in 36 matches since the last World Cup.
Australia’s best all-rounder looked comfortable and dangerous with the ball in his hands.
“If there is any opportunity to contribute, I really enjoy doing that with this group,” Perry said.
“I’ve been spending some time with my bowling. I love doing it; it keeps me interested in tumbling practice. It was really fun to have the opportunity today.”
Georgia Voll (45 not out from 32 balls) hit six fours and a six while player of the match Perry (19 not out) put in a good all-round performance by hitting runs.
Australia were forced to make two changes to the team that beat South Africa in their opening match; Megan Schutt and Grace Harris replaced Phoebe Litchfield and Ash Gardner.
Litchfield failed a match morning fitness test after suffering a quad injury while batting against the Proteas, while Gardner was unavailable with an ankle sprain.
The only blemish on Australia’s clinical response was the loss of Beth Mooney (10), who was superbly caught by Ritu Moni at mid-on.
Earlier, skipper Sophie Molineux (2-14), Perry (2-14), Kim Garth (2-18) and Annabel Sutherland (1-8 in three overs) plated the Tigers, who hit just six boundaries and no six boundaries.
In tough batting conditions, Bangladesh slumped to 5-27 in the eighth over as skipper Nigar Sultana (27) and Ritu (16) – the only two players to reach double figures – settled for 32 for the sixth wicket to restore some respectability.
Their brave partnership ended with Ritu lofting Georgia Wareham to Georgia Voll at midwicket, before Molineux trapped Nigar lbw at opposite number.
Australia will face the Netherlands at the Rose Bowl in Southampton on Saturday evening (AEST).
Zampa’s turning point in T20 win over Bangladesh
Adam Zampa and debutant Joel Davies led Australia to a four-wicket win over Bangladesh in the first T20 of their three-match series.
After winning the toss and opting to bat, Bangladesh posted a score of 131-under-par in 19 overs as the Australians took a 1-0 series lead with 10 deliveries to spare in Chattogram on Wednesday.
Cooper Connolly, the hero of Australia’s ODI victory in Dhaka on Sunday, continued his uptick in form by top-scoring with 47 in an underwhelming chase for the tourists.
“Coops has had a taste of international cricket over the last 12 months and will continue to grow and get better as he gets more comfortable,” said Australian captain Mitch Marsh, who missed the 2-1 ODI series defeat with an ankle injury.
“It was great to see him bat like that in a pretty tough inning. It’s always nice to start a series with a win.”
The Tigers got off to a flying start and recklessly succumbed to Australia’s slow bowlers, taking nine out of 10 wickets.
Bowling all-rounder Mahedi Hasan (29 not out), opener Saif Hassan (20) and No. 3 Soumya Sarkar (17) were the only Bangladesh batsmen to pass 10 not out.
Left-arm orthodox pinch-hitter Davies (3-17) and leg-spinner Adam Zampa (3-18) were the chief destroyers.
Australia’s other debutant, Nikhil Chaudhary, took 1-14 and took two catches; The first was a superb diving effort in deep cover off Zampa to clear Soumya.
Davies removed wicketkeeper Parvez Hossain Emon (10) with his second international delivery before Zampa became the first Australian to take 150 wickets in men’s T20s with Shoriful Islam picking out Tim David.
“It feels good; it means I’ve been around for a long time,” Zampa said of the milestone. “Of course it’s a proud achievement, especially in a game like this.
“We’ve had a tough time in the ODIs and it feels good to have a few young guys like Joel Davies and Nikhil Chaudhary coming into the team, feeling at home in the team and looking like they’re part of the team.”
In response Josh Inglis (five) and returning skipper Mitch Marsh (13) broke away early in the chase before Connolly steadied the ship.
The 23-year-old left-hander hit three sixes in his 27-ball innings and had a maiden T20 half-century on target when he bowled off debutant Abdul Gaffar Saqlain’s Shoriful.
David (20), Chaudhary (18) and Matt Renshaw (18) went down in victory before Xavier Bartlett took the Tigers to 6-133 with a first-ball boundary.
The second T20 will also be played in Chattogram on Friday.
AAP
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