New Zealand Women finally opened their account in the Women’s World Cup 2025 with a commanding 100-run victory over Bangladesh Women in Match 11 at the ACA Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati, on Friday, October 10.
This emphatic win not only ensured their maiden success in the ongoing tournament but also maintained their unbeaten record against Bangladesh across all formats — eight wins in eight encounters.
Devine and Halliday Anchor New Zealand’s Revival
After electing to bat first, New Zealand had a rocky start, sliding from 35/0 in 8.1 overs to 38/3 in 11 overs. However, captain Sophie Devine and Brooke Halliday steadied the innings with a composed partnership. The duo rotated strike smartly, capitalizing on loose deliveries to keep the scoreboard ticking.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒖𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑩𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒆’𝒔 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒄𝒌 𝒈𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒎 𝒘𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒅,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝑺𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒆 𝑫𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉.
Halliday’s fluent 69 off 104 balls provided stability, while Devine contributed a crucial 63 off 85 deliveries. Their partnership lifted the White Ferns to a respectable total before Bangladesh’s Nishita Akter Nishi dismissed Devine, claiming her first wicket of the day.
Late cameos from Maddy Green (25 off 28), Isabella Gaze (12 off 13), and Lea Tahuhu (12 off 4)* pushed the total further. Rabeya Khan stood out for Bangladesh, finishing with impressive figures of 3/30 in 10 overs.
Bangladesh Struggle in Run Chase
Chasing a stiff target, Bangladesh faltered early, losing three wickets inside the power play. None of their top-order batters managed to build momentum, as Shorna Akter became the sixth batter to fall with the team struggling at 66/7 by the 23rd over.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍; 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒆,” 𝒂𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑩𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒉 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝑵𝒊𝒈𝒂𝒓 𝑺𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒂 𝑱𝒐𝒕𝒚.
Despite late resistance from Fahima Khatun (34 off 80) and Rabeya Khan (25 off 39), Bangladesh were bowled out well short of the target.
For New Zealand, Jess Kerr and Lea Tahuhu led the bowling attack with three wickets each, while Amelia Kerr, though dismissed for just one with the bat, emerged as the most economical bowler on the day.
The victory keeps New Zealand’s campaign alive, while Bangladesh will look to regroup quickly before their next fixture.
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