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WWC 2025: Radha shines in washout between India and Bangladesh
Unseasonal rain washed out the final group stage match of the Women’s World Cup with India well-poised to complete a big win over Bangladesh. The weather played more games than the cricketers after the start of play was delayed for two hours, which initially reduced the match to 43-overs-a-side. A further two-hour stoppage 12.2 overs into Bangladesh’s innings made it a 27-overs-a-side match and India were set a revised target of 126.
They were on track at 57 for 0 in the ninth over but more showers meant the minimum 20 overs could not be completed.
With more rain forecast for the rest of the week in Mumbai, this match may have been a taste of things to come, especially for India’s semi-final against Australia on Thursday but that could be the least of their concerns. Opening batter Pratika Rawal suffered an injury to her knee and ankle while fielding and could not take her place at the top of the line-up in the chase. With a three-day turnaround before the knockout, she is being monitored by the Indian medical staff. In Rawal’s absence, Amanjot Kaur partnered Smriti Mandhana in the chase.
That India had such a modest target was largely due to their left-arm spinners, who shared five wickets between them. Radha Yadav, playing in her first match of the tournament, picked up 3 for 30 while Shree Charani iced the cake with 2 for 23 included. Only four Bangladesh batters got into double-figures as they stumbled to 119 for 9 in 27 overs.
Bangladesh were under pressure from the first ball when Renuka Singh produced an inswinging yorker that tested Sumaiya Akter’s defence. She finished the over with a wide ball outside off that Sumaiya slashed at, only to find Charani at short third. Deepti Sharma opened the bowling from the other end but had to wait until the tenth over to break through. She went around the wicket to Rubya Haider and induced a leading edge which was caught at mid-off.
There were 17 more balls bowled as the drizzle became a downpour and players were taken off the field at 5.50pm. Heavy rain followed and it looked increasingly unlikely the game could go ahead by 8.05pm, but the weather cleared leaving the players to deal with a wet ball.
Sharmin Akhter should have been run out when she thought a single was on even as Nigar Sultana sent her back from more than halfway down. Jemimah Rodrigues’ throw was good but Charani could not collect cleanly. Four overs later, Radha made no mistake. Sharmin hit the ball to her at point. Nigar, from the non-striker’s end, ran and Radha’s clean pick-up and throw found her short of her ground.
Bangladesh also struggled to find the boundary on resumption and it took 41 balls before they breached it with Sobhana Mostary taking advantage of a hint of width to cut Deepti for four. She stayed on the back foot to pull Radha through midwicket and inject some intent into the innings. Bangladesh were 73 for 3 after 20 overs and set up to go big.
Mostary took back-to-back boundaries off Deepti at the start of the 21st over and then Sharmin joined in. She swung hard and sent the ball towards long-on, where Rawal ran to collect but injured herself and had to be helped off the field.
Harleen Deol took a simple catch at mid-off when Mostary attempted to force the issue and hit Radha over the top. She was dismissed for a 21-ball 26 and featured in Bangladesh’s highest partnership of 38.
Shorna Akter was bowled by Amanjot before Nahida Akter swiped across the line and was bowled by Radha. Substitute fielder Arundhati Reddy sprinted in from deep midwicket when Sharmin slog-swept Charani, then flung herself forward as she took the catch. Later in the over, Radha over-ran trying to field the ball and also seemed to tweak an ankle. It didn’t stop her bowling the penultimate over and picking up her third wicket as Rabeya Khan was bowled.
Bangladesh collapsed from 91 for 3 to 117 or 9, which meant their total could hardly be considered competitive, even with Rawal unavailable. Marufa Akter found swing, and sometimes too much, but India established their chase when Amanjot short-arm pulled her with exquisite timing for the first boundary. Mandhana helped herself to a series of fours off Nishita Akter, using her feet well against the spin. After they had each faced 15 balls, Mandhana was on 23, and Amanjot just 7. They were both also dropped by Sultana, who could not hold on to difficult chances: Mandhana on 28 off Nahida, Amanjot on 15 off Rabeya.
The rain returned after that chance and the captains shook hands at 10.20pm. Bangladesh gained a point, which allowed them leapfrog Pakistan into seventh place, on net run-rate.
Brief scores: Match abandoned
India Women 57 for 0 in 8.4 overs (Mandhana Ismail 34*, Amanjot Kaur 15*) vs Bangladesh Women 119 for 9 in 27 overs (Sharmin Akhter 36, Sobhana Mostray 26; Radha Yadav 3-30, Shree Charani 2-23)
[Cricinfo]
“Obviously, it depends on the team management… what we plan to do in this match. That is a different thing. But I think it is a very thin line between trying to give somebody an opportunity and you being unfair to some other player.”
Seattle Orcas had won just one of their first three games in MLC 2026, but it all came together beautifully for them against Washington Freedom on Thursday. The 88-run win was enough for them to jump straight to No. 2 on the points table, behind the unbeaten Los Angeles Knight Riders.
Orcas got the sort of start they wanted, reaching 59 for no loss after the powerplay even as they slowed down to get to 79 for 2 at the halfway stage. But then they really turned in on thanks to Shimron Hetmyer and Marcus Stoinis. Matthew Breetzke had given the innings some momentum in partnership with Hetmyer, but when Breetzke got out in the 15th over, Orcas were solid without being spectacular at 138 for 3. Around 200 was expected, but not the 227 they got.
And that was down to Stoinis, their captain. Hetmyer was already on 44 off 20 balls and got to his half-century off 24 deliveries soon after, but Stoinis almost caught up with Hetmyer in a blaze of sixes. He hit five of them in one over, the 17th, bowled by medium pacer Ian Holland. From 4 off six balls, Stoinis was on 34 off 12, and though there was another big one in the next over, bowled by Marco Jansen, Stoinis fell for 42 off 16 deliveries the next ball.
Hetmyer, meanwhile, left it till the last over, which started with Orcas on 208 for 5. Jack Edwards was the bowler, and Hetmyer went 6, 6, 6 off the first three balls. That was enough to take Orcas to a huge total, and for Hetmyer to finish on 79 not out off 33 balls.
With that many runs to chase down, Freedom needed a solid start. Instead, they were 42 for 5 after the powerplay, having lost most of the big guns: Steven Smith, Mitchell Owen, Andries Gous, Glenn Maxwell and Edwards. Jasdeep Singh had four of the five wickets, including three in his second over – the fifth of the innings – where he got Gous first ball, Maxwell off the next, and Edwards off the fifth. Smith was already in the bag from his first over, and Jasdeep came back in the 14th to complete his five-for with Jansen’s wicket.
At one point, it looked like the record for the biggest victory margin (by runs) in MLC – currently 123 from when San Francisco Unicorns beat Freedom last season – would be broken. That it wasn’t was thanks to runs from Freedom’s Nos. 8, 9 and 10. Amila Aponso top-scored for Freedom with 31 not out from 13 balls from No. 10, and the men before him, Holland and Jansen, contributed 46 from 39 deliveries between them.
The latest defeat, their second in three games, left Freedom at the bottom of the table.
Scores:
Seattle Orcas 227 for 6 in 20 overs (Tim Seifert 37, Shayan Jahangir22, matthew Breetzket 32, Shimron Hetmyer 79*, Marcus Stoinis 42, Ali Sheikh 11; Marco Jansen 3-33, jack Edwards 1-56, Ian Holland 2-49) beat Washington Freedom 139 in 16.2 overs (Andries Gous 18.Obus Pienaar 10, Marco Jansen 20, Ian Holland 26, Amila Aponso 31*; Marcus Stoinis 1-20, Jasdeep Singh 5-24, ottneil Baartman 1-11, Cameron Gannon 2-16, Harmeet Singh 1-40) by 88 runs
[Cricinfo]
Over 40 persons have been injured (some critically) as two buses one travelling from Galle to Ampara and the other from Tangalle to Matara crashed head on at Talalla Matara this morning.
The injured have been admitted to the Matara General Hospital and Bathhegama District Hospital.
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