Sutherland Takes Four, Litchfield Takes the Rest: Australia Women Win in 25.4 Overs

There are two ways to lose a one-day match. One is quickly, in a rush of wickets. The other is slowly, by batting long enough to survive but never long enough to threaten. Bangladesh Women, at Allan Border Field on Friday, were made to lose the second way. They batted 49.4 overs and made 166, and Australia Women needed only 25.4 to get past it.

Bangladesh Women 166 all out (49.4 overs). Australia Women 168/3 (25.4 overs). Australia Women won by 7 wickets with 146 balls remaining. Annabel Sutherland, with 4 for 30 and an unbeaten 25 at the finish, was Player of the Match, and the hosts lead the three-match series 1-0.

The ball work came first, and it was relentless rather than spectacular. Megan Schutt struck with the first ball of the match, Fargana Hoque caught by Litchfield, and trapped Sarmin Sultana lbw in the third over. Schutt's ten overs went for 19, with four maidens. Sutherland removed Sharmin Akhter, who had hit five fours in a lively 24, and then Sobhana Mostary, and Bangladesh Women were 48 for 4 in the 14th over. Alana King bowled eight overs for 25 without a wicket, which says something about how little room there was.

Then the chase, which was over almost before it had a shape. Australia Women reached 50 in 6.3 overs and had 74 for 1 at the end of the first powerplay. Georgia Voll made 19 from 18 before Habiba Islam had her caught at 30. Phoebe Litchfield reached her fifty from 35 balls, with eight fours and a six, and she and Ellyse Perry added 89 from 67 balls. Litchfield fell for 77 from 57 at 119 for 2 in the 17th over, Beth Mooney went for 13, and Perry (26 not out) and Sutherland (25 not out) finished it in the 26th over.

Bangladesh Women's problem was not that they collapsed. It was that they could never accelerate. They were 34 for 3 after the first powerplay and 57 for 4 at the first drinks break. Nigar Sultana, the captain, dug in for 86 balls and 29 runs, and survived an Australian review on umpire's call in the 27th over, but was caught behind off Tahlia McGrath at the end of that same over with the score 83 for 5. Shorna Akter made 21 from 50. The hundred came up in the 32nd over.

The brightest batting came late. Ritu Moni made 45 from 63 balls with five fours, and with Nahida Akter (19 not out) added 37 for the eighth wicket to take the score from 122 to 159, before she was run out in the 48th over. Sutherland came back to take the last wicket with two balls of the innings left.

With the ball, Habiba Islam took two of the three wickets, Voll and Mooney, for 36 in six overs, and Rabeya Khan claimed Litchfield for 32 in seven. But 166 gave them almost no margin to work with.

We were not at the ground and won't describe the pitch. The scorecard tells us that the new ball was the hardest period to bat: Bangladesh Women lost three wickets in their first powerplay, and Australia Women lost their first only after 30 runs. Australia's bowlers went at 3.34 an over across the innings. In the second innings, Australia Women's 74 in the first ten overs suggests that the runs were there for batters willing to play their shots. The side that chose to field at the toss won with more than 24 overs to spare.

Sutherland's day had a neat symmetry to it. She took the third and fourth wickets, the ones that turned a cautious start into a hole, and then came back to take the seventh and the tenth, with Ritu Moni's run-out in between bearing her name as well. Her 9.4 overs cost 30 with two maidens. Then, with the chase already settled, she walked out at 134 for 3 and made 25 from 23 alongside Perry.

Some all-rounders take over a match. Sutherland's way on Friday was quieter: she kept appearing at exactly the moments when Bangladesh Women were trying to start again, and each time, she closed the door a little further.

This match didn't have a CricIntel preview, so there is no prediction to grade.

The 2nd ODI is on October 11 and the 3rd on October 14, both at Allan Border Field. Australia Women need one more win to take the series. Bangladesh Women, who lost their tour match to Queensland Women by 72 runs (DLS) before this, will be looking for runs in the first 30 overs, where 166 was lost long before the end.