Australia take series as Tigresses fail to execute plan

Bangladesh followed a similar pattern of falling into their own spin trap while also getting bundled out for under 100 runs for the second consecutive game as the Tigresses suffered a six-wicket defeat against world champions Australia in the second Women's One-Day International in Mirpur yesterday.

The outcome also saw the Aussies take the three-match series 2-0 with a game in hand.

The deficiencies could be gauged clearly during the Powerplay of the Tigresses' batting innings when pacers Megan Schutt and Ellyse Perry and spinner Sophie Molineux operated. The lack of scoring shots led to just 17 runs being scored while losing a wicket in that phase.

Batters struggled even more against spin. Opener Fargana Haque played 52 deliveries for seven runs. Sobhana Mostary played out 20 deliveries for just three while Shorna Akter took 19 deliveries to score just two before the Tigresses' misery finally ended in 44.1 overs when they were bundled out for 97 -- two more than their accumulation in the first match.

"We are always coming up with a plan but sometimes can't execute in the middle and that's the reason," Bangladesh spin bowling coach Dinuka Hettiarachchi clarified why the Tigresses failed in this series.

The plan was different for the openers as well, not what was seen in their approach.

"As I said, we came into the game with a plan. We were trying to score 40-50 runs in 10 overs. I don't know but for some reason, their [openers'] plan is not working. Not like we have bad batters; we have a very good bunch of players and they batted really well in the last few years. Even we beat South Africa in South Africa," Dinuka added.

Aussie spinners accounted for nine of 10 Bangladesh wickets, with left-arm spinner Molineux picking up three for 10 runs before Ellyse Perry's unbeaten 50-ball 35 saw them coast to a victory with 157 balls to spare. However, Dinuka did not admit that trying to exploit the home advantage had backfired on the Tigresses in this instance.

"No, we are always going with spin bowlers in home soil and taking home advantage. As I said, if we bat first, we need to put up a good score for the bowlers. Then we can go ahead with a plan," he said.

Asked if Australia's spinners were of a higher quality than anticipated, Dinuka said there was no room for excuses. "It is [of a higher quality] but they are the world's number one team. There are no excuses. Wherever you go, you will have to play against top teams."

Meanwhile, it was a dream return for Molineux, whose last ODI appearance was against India in October 2021 before she was sidelined by foot and knee injuries for a prolonged period.

"It's just nice to be back, to be honest. I think that all bowlers performed really well today, especially the spinners and to be able to get over the line. It was a good day for us," she said.