New Age | A new breeze in batting

A fresh breeze of comfort flows through the Bangladesh women’s team camp when they take on Ireland in the second ODI of a three-match series at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur today.

Bangladesh dominated their Irish counterparts in both batting and bowling in the first ODI to secure a record 154-run win and take a 1-0 lead in the series. They also got two crucial points in the ICC Women’s Championship.

The batting laid the foundation for the big win as the top four stood up with Sharmin Akter top-scoring with a blistering 89-ball 96.

The women’s team’s batting coach Nasiruddin Faruk believes that Sharmin Akter’s comeback with a stronger mindset helped matters.

‘I think in the last eight months; we concentrated on the T20s. But in the previous series, except against Australia, we did well, Faruk told reporters on Friday.

“Of course the comeback of Supta (Sharmin) means something. The difference between the Supta of a year ago and now is that the current version is mentally stronger.’

Sharmin, who made a comeback in the previous match after last playing in July 2023, became the first woman player to score a significant number of runs with a strike rate of 107.86.

‘The difference lies in the way of thinking. Obviously, you won’t see this type of innings. You said our team depends on one player. Now it seems everyone is capable of scoring runs,’ said Faruk.

The batting coach also presented another difference. In the previous match, Bangladesh hit a joint record of 27 boundaries (26 fours and one six).

‘There will be dotted balls in women’s cricket. But in the previous match we also hit 27 boundaries; it’s another record. The thing is, when our opponents are a big team, they also give dot balls. But they hit more boundaries than us.’

In a year where Bangladesh have played 16 T20Is compared to just four ODIs so far, batting was the main concern. Apart from the captain Nigar Sultana Joty, the others were inconsistent.

But returning to the 50-over format, and against weaker opposition in Ireland, batting found new ground. Now it’s time to maintain consistency.