Sharjah, 11 October (HIST). West Indies defeated Bangladesh by 8 wickets on Thursday to top Group B of the Women's T20 World Cup. The Caribbean team dominated at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, thanks to the collective effort of the batsmen and the brilliant performance of 29-year-old spinner Karishma Ramharaik.
Chasing a modest target of 104 runs, the stormy batting of West Indies batsmen defeated Bangladesh. Captains Hayley Matthews and Stafanie Taylor laid the foundation for a fast chase. After adopting a cautious approach in the initial overs, the openers tackled the boundaries in the powerplay and easily took the score to 48/0. In the eighth over, Bangladesh finally got the breakthrough. Right-hander Marufa Aktar bowled the ball at a speed of 109.4 kmph and dismissed the West Indies captain. Due to going far away from the deck, the ball took the inside edge of Mathews' bat and hit the stumps. Mathews scored 34 runs in 22 balls with the help of 6 fours.
Taylor took full advantage after Sobhana Mosteri dropped the catch. She spent some time on the field with Shamen Campbell, but eventually limped off and retired hurt after scoring 27 runs off 29 balls. After this, Nahida Akhtar gave second success to Bangladesh by dismissing Shaman Campbell (21) at a total of 84.
However, after this Deandra Dottin (19 not out) and Chinelle Henry (2 not out) helped West Indies win by seven overs in 12.5 overs. Deandra Dottin ensured her team's victory by brilliantly sending the ball over the boundary rope.
Earlier, West Indies won the toss and invited Bangladesh to bat. Mathews used seven bowlers in the first innings, but Ramharaik surprised everyone with his brilliant spell. He took a wicket in every over of his four-over spell, derailing Bangladesh's innings before it could gather momentum. He took 4 wickets for 17 runs in his 4 overs. Bangladesh scored 103 runs for 8 wickets in their 20 overs.
For Bangladesh, Nigar Sultana played a slow inning of 39 runs in 44 balls. Apart from them, Dilara Akhtar scored 19, Sobhana Mostri scored 16 and Ritu Moni scored 10 runs.