Image Credit- Getty
In the first
Twenty20 international match of the series, Australia defeated Bangladesh by 10
wickets in Dhaka, where Tayla Vlaeminck marked her comeback to international
cricket by taking a wicket with her third ball.
In her first Australia match since January 2022, Vlaeminck outran Sobhana
Mostary by hitting the batter’s stumps quickly. Australia held Bangladesh to
126 for 4, eventually chasing the mark down without a loss and with seven overs
remaining. She finished with 1 for 30.
Prior to the Bangladesh tour, she acknowledged that she had once asked herself
in private why the authorities had continued to have faith in her. But she
responded to it herself on Sunday afternoon. With her comeback, Vlaeminck’s
chances of being selected for the World Cup later this year were strengthened.
Sophie Molineux, a
fellow Victorian, did her case no hurt either. Her 2023 was ruined by an ACL
rupture, so she had Dilara Akter caught with the opening ball of the game. In
the last over of the innings, she also dismissed Fahima Khatun, concluding with
a 2 for 25 record.
After going out at No. 4 in the second over, captain Nigar Sultana, who scored
precisely half the runs, was left undefeated on 63 from 64 balls, and
Bangladesh owed him their final total of 126.
In response, Beth
Mooney (55 not out in 36 balls) and Alyssa Healy (65 not out in 42 balls)
easily handled the chase.
In a commanding innings, Healy hit nine fours and a six to reach fifty in
thirty-four balls. Together, Mooney and her 34-ball fifty, which included nine
boundaries, helped Australia win their fourth T20 century by 10 wickets.