New Zealand’s Brooke Halliday plays a shot during the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 ODI cricket match between New Zealand and Bangladesh, at ACA Stadium, Barsapara in Guwahati, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Guwahati New Zealand opened its account in the Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 edition with a facile 100-run win against Bangladesh at the Barsapara Stadium on Friday (October 10, 2025).
Sophie Devine and Brooke Halliday added 112 for the fourth wicket before pacers Jess Kerr and Lea Tahuhu and picked up three wickets apiece to dismantle the opponent’s chase.
Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana didn’t mind losing the toss as Rabeya Khan removed Georgia Plimmer and Amelia Kerr cheaply. While the spinner constricted the run flow, pace sensation Marufa Akter (one for 58 in seven overs) had a forgettable evening.
Suzie Bates, who scored her first runs in the tournament, deposited Marufa’s wider deliveries around the field as the bowler couldn’t manufacture the prodigious swing she usually gets. But, Bates’ vigil was cut short at 29 after ball-watching got her run out in the PowerPlay.
It was the big stand between Devine (63) and Halliday (69) which rescued New Zealand before the latter was sent back by Fahima Khatun.
Skipper Devine, who notched up her third consecutive 50-plus score this tournament, looked beat in the death overs. A Type 1 diabetic, the 36-year-old ate what looked like gummy bears to revive glucose levels. Fuelled up, she smacked consecutive sixes in the 44th over off Nishita Akter Nishi before the spinner castled her.
Tahuhu and Eden Carson mustered up 16 runs in the last over to take their side to 227 for nine.
If Bangladesh was to pull off its second-highest chase in the format, it would have needed a decent start. But the Tigresses slumped to 22 for three at the end of the PowerPlay with Jess and Rosemary Mair striking with their swing and denying boundaries. In the next four overs, Bangladesh lost three more wickets for 11 runs. Fahima and Rabeya’s 44-run partnership for the eighth wicket tried to take the chase deep but the side was bundled out in 39.5 overs to suffer its second loss in a row.
The scores: New Zealand 227/9 in 50 overs (Brooke Halliday 69, Sophie Devine 63, Rabeya Khan 3/30) bt Bangladesh 127 in 39.5 overs (Fahima Khatun 34, Jess Kerr 3/21, Lea Tahuhu 3/22); Toss: NZ; PoM: Halliday.
Published – October 11, 2025 01:16 am IST
