WELLINGTON, March 27: Defending champions England became the third team to book its place in the semi-finals of the Women’s World Cup with a comfortable 100-run win over Bangladesh here on Sunday.
Sophia Dunkley’s 72-ball 67 helped the reigning champions post 234 for six at Basin Reserve and a polished bowling performance, led yet again by Sophie Ecclestone’s economical spell of 3/15, meant Bangladesh never threatened to rein in England’s total and were bowled out for 134 in the 48th over.
England have now won four matches on the trot, having more than made up for their slow start to the tournament with a string of impressive performances that has highlighted the depth in their squad.
Experienced seamer Anya Shrubsole was rested on Sunday, paving the way for Charlie Dean (3/31) and Freya Davies (2/36) to show their prowess as Knight used seven different bowlers to successfully negate the Bangladesh batters.
All-rounder Lata Mondal top-scored for Bangladesh with 30 and openers Shamima Sultana and Sharmin Akhter made 23 apiece, but none of their batters found scoring easy to come by against England’s quality bowlers. (PTI)
