Sophie Devine scores 63 as New Zealand beats Bangladesh for first win at Women’s Cricket World Cup

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GUWAHATI, India (AP) — Sophie Devine notched her third half century of the tournament as New Zealand beat Bangladesh by 100 runs Friday for its first win at the Women’s Cricket World Cup.

Devine, who scored 112 and 85 in losing causes against Australia and South Africa, scored 63 off 85 balls to help rescue the White Ferns from another shaky start. Brooke Halliday top-scored with 69 off 104 balls as New Zealand recovered from 38-3 to post 227-9.

“Our plan was clear – we wanted to be boring, looking for ones and twos," Hallliday said. “We wanted to keep things simple with bat and ball. We knew if we did that, we will fare well.”

In reply, Bangladesh was bundled out for 127 runs in 39.5 overs with medium pacers Rosemary Mair, Jess Kerr and Lea Tahuhu sharing eight wickets. Fahima Khatun top-scored for Bangladesh with 34.

Opting to bat, New Zealand lost three wickets in 11 overs as wrist spinner Rabeya Khan continued her good form by having Georgia Plimmer stumped for four and then bowled Amelia Kerr for just one.

Suzie Bates was then run out for 29 but Devine and Halliday added 112 runs off 165 balls for the fourth wicket to revive the Kiwi innings. Halliday scored 50 off 80 balls, while Devine reached 50 off 82 balls.

Devine-Halliday became the first New Zealand pair to have a 50-plus stand in three consecutive games. It was also the White Ferns’ second-best partnership for the fourth-wicket or lower in ODIs.

Halliday fell in the 39th over when she was caught off Fahima Khatun, while Devine was bowled in the 44th over. Maddy Green’s 25 off 28 balls with three fours held the lower-order together to cross 220.

In reply, Bangladesh’s batters collapsed in a heap as New Zealand’s medium pacers reduced them to 66-7.

None of the top five batters crossed five runs. Mair and Kerr made early inroads, before Tahuhu wrecked the middle order to leave Fahima Khatun with little support.

Rosemary Mair – playing her first game of the tournament – picked 2-20 in six overs. Kerr took 3-21 in eight overs, while Tahuhu returned 3-22 in six overs.

New Zealand’s first win moved it up one spot to sixth in the standings table. It next plays co-host Sri Lanka in Colombo on Tuesday.

Bangladesh stayed fifth in the table with a second loss in three games. It next plays South Africa in Visakhapatnam.

England plays Sri Lanka in Colombo on Saturday.

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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket