Knight 79 seals victory for England Women as Bangladesh fall short

Bangladesh bowled superbly in defence of a subpar total, as two “controversial” decisions from the TV umpire become talking points

Heather Knight’s gritty 79* saw England chase down Bangladesh’s 178 with 4 wickets to spare in a tense Women’s World Cup encounter in Guwahati.

Despite a valiant bowling effort from the Tigresses, two “controversial” calls from the TV umpire played a crucial role in England’s victory on Tuesday.

Chasing 179 to win, England were in trouble at 130 for 6 in the 30th over, with Bangladesh seemingly in control. A determined 79-run unbroken partnership between Knight and Charlie Dean then steered England home with 23 balls to spare.

Knight, who faced 101 balls for her match-winning knock, was named Player of the Match for her calm and composed knock under pressure.

The first debatable umpire decision came when Knight was given out caught behind on a duck, but survived on review with TV umpire Gayathri Venugopalan initially saying there was “inconclusive evidence" that the bat made contact with the ball, while another angle gave the hint of a gap. The third umpire then overturned the decision due to “insufficient evidence”.

As Knight continued to lead a charmed life, scratching her way to 13 off 38 balls when she spooned Fahima Khatun to Shorna Akter at cover and walked off, only to be recalled as the TV umpire said there was “inconclusive” evidence that the fielder had her fingers under the ball.

The Bangladesh team, visibly frustrated, saw their captain Nigar Sultana engage in discussions with the umpires following both decisions.

Chasing 179 for the win, England began poorly, with both openers, Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones, dismissed early.

The first breakthrough for Bangladesh came from Marufa Akter (2-28), who dismissed Amy Jones for a duck with a superb in-swinging delivery.

Marufa struck again in her next over, trapping Beaumont leg-before, but Bangladesh were unable to capitalise on their early success. A narrow miss saw Knight survive a close lbw appeal, with the third umpire confirming the ball would have missed the stumps.

Despite these setbacks, Bangladesh bowlers kept up the fight, as the pitch, slightly slow, made batting difficult, and England batters had to work for their runs.

Knight’s experience steadied the ship, and alongside Nat Sciver-Brunt, who contributed a valuable 32 runs.

In the end, despite the late surge from Bangladesh, England were able to keep their nerve and close out the match. Knight's timely 50, her first in the tournament, ensured England reached their target comfortably with 23 balls remaining.

Earlier, Bangladesh were all out in 49.4 overs, with Sobhana Mostary top-scoring with 60 runs from 108 balls. The lower order, led by Rabeya Khan’s cameo 43*, provided vital runs, but the total was always going to be a challenging one against a strong England side.

Sharmin Akhter also contributed by scoring 30 runs from 52 balls, but regular wickets meant they were never able to build partnerships.

The England spinners dominated the later stages of the innings, with Dean and Sarah Glenn taking two wickets apiece, and the seamers bowled economically to restrict Bangladesh.

Brief Scores:

Bangladesh: 178 all out in 49.4 overs (Rubya 4, Sharmine 30, Nigar 0, Sobhana 60, Shorno 10, Ritu 5, Fahima 7, Nahida 1, Rabeya 43*, Sanjida 1; Bell 7-1-28-1, Smith 9.4-1-33-2, Sciver-Brunt 5-0-32-0, Dean 10-2-28-2, Capsey 8-1-31-2)

England: 182/6 in 46.1 overs (Beaumont 13, Jones 1, Knight 79*, Sciver-Brunt 32, Dunkley 0, Lamp 1, Capsey 20, Dean 27*; Marufa 5-0-28-2, Nahida 8-1-34-0, Sanjida 7-0-24-1, Rabeya 7-1-39-0, Fahima 10-2-16-3, Shorno 7-0-33-0, Ritu 2-1-3-0, Sobhana 0.1-4-0)

Result: England won by 4 wickets

Player of the Match: Heather Knight