Australia thump Bangladesh by 9 wickets at Headingley

In Leeds, Australia defeated Bangladesh by nine wickets in a comfortable victory thanks to yet another impressive all-round performance. Opting to field at Headingley, Australia restricted Bangladesh to 77 for 8 before Georgia Voll's 32-ball 45 ensured the target was chased down with more than 10 overs to spare. Ellyse Perry was named Player of the Match for her two wickets and 15-ball 19*.

The seamers from Australia started the damage early. Dilara Akter attempted an ambitious cross-batted shot but was bowled by Kim Garth in her first over. Garth then trapped Juairiya Ferdous lbw with an inswinger in her next over, leaving Bangladesh at 15 for 2.

The troubles deepened when captain Sophie Molineux joined the act, getting Sharmin Akhter lbw with an arm-ball. At 17 for 3, Bangladesh were already under pressure when Perry quickly made it worse. As Bangladesh fell to 29 for 5, the veteran all-rounder struck out Sobhana Mostary and Shorna Akter in just four balls.

With a 32-run sixth-wicket partnership, Captain Nigar Sultana and Ritu Moni briefly stabilized the innings, but scoring remained challenging on the challenging surface. Nigar scored the most points with 27, followed by Ritu with 16, but neither player was able to score enough to raise the scoring rate.

Australia struck again when Bangladesh finally tried to accelerate. Ritu top-edged a sweep off Georgia Wareham to deep square leg while Molineux returned to trap Nigar lbw with a slider that skidded through. Bangladesh finished the game on 77 for 8 and Annabel Sutherland was given another lbw dismissal when Rabeya Khan failed to make an attempted heave.

Australia's chase began cautiously but soon gathered pace courtesy Voll. The opener struck Marufa Akter for a straight six in the Powerplay and then took on Nahida Akter for three boundaries in an over after the field spread. Bangladesh found a breakthrough when Beth Mooney tried to clear the infield and was superbly caught by Ritu Moni at mid-off for 10.

Any hopes of a fightback were quickly ended by Voll was joined by Perry, who also chipped in with boundaries. As Australia completed their pursuit of a straightforward victory, the opener remained unbeaten on 42.