Sobhana creates history but Aussies romp to series win

Sobhana Mostary produced a historic century for Bangladesh but Georgia Voll stole the limelight as Australia romped to a dominant nine-wicket win in the second ODI.

Sobhana became the first Bangladesh woman to score an international century against Australia, producing a chanceless 134-ball 118 after the Tigresses were asked to bat first at Allan Border Field.

She shared a second 195-run stand with captain Nigar Sultana Joty (74no from 111) – the highest ODI partnership ever against the Aussie women – as the tourists compiled a much-improved 6-222.

But their hopes of keeping the series alive quickly evaporated as Voll scored her third ODI century, hammering an unbeaten 131 from 97 deliveries.

She shared in a 162-run opening stand with Phoebe Litchfield (70 from 51), before she was joined by Ellyse Perry as Australia reeled in their target in just 28.1 overs, sealed a series win with a game to play.

Having lost two wickets inside the first two-and-a-half overs on Friday night, openers Fargana Hoque and Sharmin Sultana, not renowned for taking the game on early, went even further into their shells, Bangladesh taking 20 deliveries before scoring their first run off the bat.

They again lost their first wicket in the third over as Megan Schutt broke through, finding the edge of Fargana's bat with Beth Mooney gloving the simple chance to break a two-run opening stand.

The Bangladesh batters took 'watchful' to new levels as just eight runs were scored from the first seven overs, before a double strike from Schutt and Kim Garth left the tourists 3-8.

But the slow-and-steady approach ultimately paid off as Sobhana joined her skipper Joty in the middle, and after a circumspect start, Sobhana turned the tables on Australia in the 13th over, dispatching Georgia Wareham for three boundaries.

While the shackles were not removed so much as loosened, the scoring became more free-flowing for the Bangladesh pair, with Sobhana the main aggressor.

She brought up her half-century from 66 balls – the second half-century scored against Australia by a Bangladesh woman, after Sobhana's own 66 not out at last year's ODI World Cup.

As their partnership grew, the Australians became increasingly frustrated with the Tigresses, who pounced on opportunities without taking risks, as Nigar brought up a far more leisurely 97-ball half-century of her own.

If 24-year-old Sobhana was feeling nerves as her century grew nearer, it did not show as she continued expertly rotating the strike, moving through the nineties before bringing up triple figures from 123 deliveries with a punch to cover.

She scurried through for a quick single before lifting her arms in jubilation, turning to embrace her skipper.

It was Sobhana's first century in any format, as she became just the third Bangladesh woman to hit an ODI ton.

When she dispatched Annabel Sutherland for back-to-back boundaries in the 47th over, she surpassed Fargana's record of 107 as the highest score by a Bangladesh woman.

Her 134-ball innings finally came to an end via a Schutt full toss that struck the base of leg stump.

It also ended a superb 195-run stand between Sobhana and Nigar – remarkably, the biggest partnership, for any wicket, by any team against Australia in ODIs, beating the 170-run stand between New Zealand pair Emily Drumm and Rebecca Rolls in 2022.

Two further late wickets added some consolation for the Australia bowlers, with Nigar finishing unbeaten on 74 as Bangladesh posted 6-222.

Sobhana's innings was one that should rightly have her name up in lights and image on the front pages of newspapers in Dhaka, however, Bangladesh's total was never going to be remotely near enough against Australia on a flat AB Field deck.

Double that total may not have been enough, as Voll and Litchfield displayed when they put the Bangladesh attack to the sword while barely getting out of first gear in response.

Voll, who missed out on her home turf in Friday's series opener, dispatched Ritu Moti for four boundaries in the 10th over to bring up a 34-ball half-century.

The Australian openers' 100-run stand came up in the 13th over, before Litchfield, the more circumspect of the pair early, reached into her own bag of tricks to reach fifty off 41 deliveries.

With the 'Litch' switch flicked, the left-hander brought out the reverse and the lap to begin closing the gap on her opening partner. She dispatched Shorna Akter for an enormous six over long on to move into the 70s in the 20th over, but her favoured reverse sweep proved her undoing a ball later, with a leading edge finding Habiba Islam at cover.

It gave the beleaguered Bangladesh fielders reason to celebrate, but the relief was only temporary as Voll reached her third one-day international century, and her second at AB Field, from 81 deliveries.

Having twice before been dismissed on 101, Voll entered new ground on Sunday, and just 15 matches into her ODI career, the Queenslander already has three centuries and three fifties to her name.

NRMA Insurance Women's ODI Series v Bangladesh

First ODI: Australia won by seven wickets

Second ODI: Australia won by nine wickets

Third ODI: Wednesday, October 14 (D/N)

* All matches played at Allan Border Field, Brisbane, starting at 1:50pm local

Australia ODI squad: Tahlia McGrath (c), Ashleigh Gardner (vc), Nicola Carey, Kim Garth, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham 

Bangladesh ODI squad: Nigar Sultana (c), Nahida Akter, Shorna Akter, Marufa Akter, Rabeya Khan, Ritu Moni, Sobhana Mostary, Sarmin Sultana, Sharmin Akter, Sanjida Akther, Sultana Khatun, Dilara Akter, Farzana Haque, Disha Biswas, Murshida Khatun, Habiba Islam

NRMA Insurance Women's T20 Series v New Zealand

First T20I: Sunday, October 18

Second T20I: Tuesday, October 20

Third T20I: Thursday, October 22

* All matches played at North Sydney Oval starting at 7:15pm AEDT

Australia T20I squad: Sophie Molineux (c), Ashleigh Gardner (vc), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Nicola Carey, Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham 

New Zealand T20I squad: Melie Kerr (c), Eden Carson, Flora Devonshire, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Bree Illing, Polly Inglis (wk), Bella James, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Nensi Patel, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Izzy Sharp

All women's international matches will be shown live on Seven, 7Plus, Kayo Sports and Foxtel