Birmingham, June 14 (IANS) Captain Babette de Leede produced a composed half-century to guide the Netherlands to 139/8 in 20 overs against Bangladesh in their opening match of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 at Edgbaston on Sunday.

After electing to bat first, the Netherlands got off to a cautious start, managing only four runs in the opening over. Opener Phebe Molkenboer looked to accelerate the scoring by striking two consecutive boundaries at the start of the second over, but her promising innings was cut short when Marufa Akter induced an edge that was comfortably taken by wicketkeeper Nigar Sultana.

Bangladesh’s bowlers maintained tight control in the early stages. Marufa repeatedly troubled De Leede with her disciplined line and length, while Heather Siegers kept the scoreboard moving with a couple of boundaries at the other end.

The Netherlands suffered another setback in the fifth over when Heather Siegers edged Fariha Trisna behind after scoring 16 off 13 balls. Despite the loss of wickets, the Dutch side reached 40/2 at the end of the powerplay.

With the pressure mounting, Sterre Kalis was dismissed on the very first ball of the eighth over, bowled by Rabeya Khan. The wicket left the tournament debutants struggling to build momentum as Bangladesh continued to tighten their grip on the innings.

De Leede, however, remained calm and focused. She found support from Robine Rijke, and the pair added a valuable 24 runs for the fourth wicket to steady the innings. Their partnership ended in the 12th over when Marufa completed a sharp return catch to dismiss Rijke for 13 off 14 balls.

The wickets continued to fall at regular intervals. Sanya Khurana managed only one run before becoming the next batter to depart, leaving the Netherlands in further trouble.

Through the middle overs, De Leede held the innings together with sensible batting. She rotated the strike regularly and punished loose deliveries to ensure the scoring rate did not stall completely. However, the Dutch captain was involved in an unfortunate mix-up that resulted in Frederique Overdijk being run out for nine.

De Leede reached a well-earned half-century from 45 balls in the 17th over. The milestone came with a single, but she was run out while attempting a second run. Her knock of 50 included five boundaries and played a key role in taking the Netherlands beyond the 100-run mark.

Bangladesh struck again soon after when Caroline de Lange was bowled by Shanjida Akter Meghla. Nevertheless, the Netherlands found some late runs through Iris Zwilling, who made a brisk 13, while Silver Siegers remained unbeaten on 10.

Their contributions in the closing overs helped the Netherlands cross the 130-run mark and finish on a competitive 139/8, with De Leede’s captain’s knock forming the backbone of the innings.

Brief Scores: Netherlands-W 139/8 in 20 overs (Babette de Leede 50, Heather Siegers 16; Marufa Akter 2-31, Ritu Moni 1-17) against Bangladesh-W

–IANS

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