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Cricket PlayersWatch: Fans invade ground in crazy celebrations as Bangladesh stun Australia with seven-wicket win in U19 Women's T20 WC
Bangladesh registered a stunning seven-wicket win against Australia in the opening game of the U19 Women's T20 World Cup.
The Bangladesh U19 Women's team made an incredible start to the T20 World Cup, as it stunned Australia by seven wickets in Benoni. Opting to bat first, Australia had endured a shaky start as the side lost its first two wickets for 22; Claire Moore scored a half-century but scored a 51-ball 52, while Ella Hayward scored 35 at a poor strike rate of 89.74, as the side posted 130/5 in 20 overs. For Bangladesh, Marufa Akter and Disha Biswas picked two wickets each.
In the run-chase, Bangladesh had a worst-possible start as Misty Shaha was dismissed on the first delivery of the innings, but Afia Prottasha (24) and Dilara Akter (40) stabilised their innings with a 66-run stand. With a relatively low target, the two batters took their time before Shorna Akter (23*) and Sumaiya Akter (31*) eventually steered the side to victory with two overs remaining.
As Sumiaya smashed the winning runs for Bangladesh, the dug out burst into wild celebrations. When the team began to come back to the dressing room following the game, fans also invaded the ground and the Bangladesh cricketers had to be shielded by the security personnel at the stadium.
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Dilara Akter was named the player of the match for her 40-run knock.
The result came as a shock to the cricketing fraternity as a certain number of Australia U19 Women's cricketers – Ella Hayward, Amy Smith, and Rhys Mckenna, to name a few – are also a part of the Women's Big Bash League, the premier T20 league competition of the country.
It was also the first game of the inaugural Women's U19 T20 WC; India also took on South Africa later in the day at the tournament. The Indian team is led by Shafali Verma, who is an integral part of the senior team across all formats as well.
