Group 1
Venue: Newlands, Cape Town
17.01.2023, @04:00 PM (+03:00 UTC)
The Women’s World Cup has taken off and barring a single upset, the tournament has given us the expected results. One big development has been Sri Lanka emerging as a semi-final contender out of nowhere and they had overachieved before being brought to the Earth by the dream-shattering machine Australia. Anyway, in this game, one of the most underwhelming squads thus far, New Zealand, takes on Bangladesh.
Get Your Sign-Up Bonus!Bangladesh
Bangladesh comes into the game after suffering an eight-wicket loss against the mighty Australians. This was their second straight loss after they had lost to Sri Lanka earlier. As has been the case for a long time, skipper Nigar Sultana was the lone warrior on the batting end. She scored 57 runs which is more than 50% of the total of 107. Sorna Akhter struggled to time the ball and was the only player in double-figure besides Nigar.
Bowling-wise, Bangladesh did well but it was also due to Australia’s cautious approach, however, they do deserve credit to drag the game to 19th Over. Never being in th game at any point, they struggled to pick up wickets. But one shining light has been Marufa Akhter, who is hitting the right channels and putting batters in two minds. She bowled another marvelous spell, picking the wicket of Beth Mooney early and finishing with one wicket for 19 runs. She picked three wickets in Bangladesh’s first game and overall, her impact has been huge. However, Bangladesh is dependent upon just a couple of players and needs more from others
New Zealand
New Zealand enters the game after another shoddy effort, losing by 65 runs against South Africa. They had a fantastic effort while bowling first, picking up two wickets at the 13 runs mark and they also contained Laura Woolvardt. It was Chloe Tryon who saved the day for the hosts with fantastic innings of 40 runs from 34 balls to propel South Africans to 132. Spinner Eden Carson and seamer Lea Tahuhu picked two wickets each while Amelia Kerr was the most economical as usual, giving just 21 runs in four overs.
However, once again, batting-wise New Zealand had a horrid game. Suzie Bates scored a duck for the second time in a row, Bernadine Bezuidenhot fell for a duck too and George Plimmer was sent packing early. The highest scorer was Sophie Devine with just 16 and New Zealand whittled in another poor batting effort. They have now scored 76, 69 in the first two games and their campaign is pretty much over. This campaign has left a lot of questions for the management.
Player Props Predictions
- Expected Leading Run-Scorers: Sophie Devine(23+ Runs), Nigar Sultana(22+ Runs);
- Expected Leading Wicket-Getters: Amelie Kerr(2+ Wickets), Marufa Akter(2+ Wickets).
Expert Betting Tips
Although the New Zealand squad just defeated Bangladesh in a series with a big margin, their form, and confidence aren’t at the same level. While Bangladesh hasn’t created any big ripples, their play has sparked some confidence. The New Zealand batters are geting overwhelmed and Marufa will come in play for Bangladesh. At any rate, I’d stick with New Zealand here.