Women’s ODI World Cup Preview | Australia primed to continue unbeaten run against spirited Bangladesh

Last Wednesday at 3:02 PM

Australia will meet Bangladesh in an ICC Women’s ODI World Cup match in Visakhapatnam on Thursday. The Aussies are yet to be beaten in the tournament with seven points from four matches, while Bangladesh are languishing in the bottom half after their third consecutive loss against South Africa.

‌After recording the highest successful chase in women’s ODIs against hosts India in their previous match, Australia will be up against Bangladesh in their fifth match of the ICC Women’s World Cup. The Aussies will be primed to continue their unbeaten run in this edition of the tournament when they take the field at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Thursday.

After Ashleigh Gardner and Beth Mooney, it was captain Alyssa Healy’s turn to score big and take her side home in a high-scoring run chase against the home side. Healy scored 142 off 107 balls as the Aussies successfully chased down 331 runs with an over to spare, while Annabel Sutherland shone with the ball with a five-wicket haul.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s campaign would have been far different but for the slip-ups in crucial phases in two of their three lost encounters. After winning their opening match against Pakistan, they reduced England to 103/6 in a chase of 179, but let them off the hook, losing the game by four wickets.

In their last game, they had South Africa struggling, first at 78/5, and then at 198/7, before some ordinary fielding effort saw the Proteas cross the line in a nail-biting finish. Bangladesh will do well not to repeat the same against Australia as they aim to come out of a three-match losing streak. Skipper Nigar Sultana Joti will require her spinners to continue their impressive showing and the team to keep their calm in clutch moments to go the distance.

Form Guide

AUS W Form: W W A W W

BAN W Form: L W L L L

AUS W vs BAN W head-to-head in ODIs

Bangladesh Women are yet to win an ODI against Australia Women, with the latter ending victorious on all four occasions.

AUS W 4 - 0 BAN W

Pitch and Conditions

The surface at ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium is expected to be flat, with another high-scoring affair on the cards. Both captains will be looking to chase down a target with all three games at the venue in this World Cup being won by chasing sides.

A warm and sunny afternoon will welcome both sides to the ground, with temperatures expected to be around 31 degrees. The temperatures are expected to cool down to 25 degrees, with probability of rain placed at 25%.

Team News

Both sides are expected to field the same eleven as in their respective previous games.

AUS W Expected XI

Alyssa Healy (c & wk), Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, Beth Mooney, Annabel Sutherland, Ahleigh Gardner, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Kim Garth, Alana King, Megan Schutt.

BAN W Expected XI

Fargana Hoque, Rubya Haider, Sharmin Akhter, Nigar Sultana (c & wk), Shorna Akter, Sobhana Mostary, Rabeya Khan, Ritu Moni, Fahima Khatun, Nahida Akter, Marufa Akter.

Broadcasting Platforms

The AUS W vs BAN W ODI World Cup match will be digitally streamed on the JioHotstar app and website in India from 3:00 PM IST on Thursday, with live telecast on the Star Sports network.