Halliday and Devine Shine as New Zealand Secures First Victory

New Zealand secured their first win in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 with a decisive 100-run victory over Bangladesh in Guwahati. Key performances came from Brooke Halliday and Sophie Devine, who put together a vital 112-run stand to stabilize the innings after an early collapse. Jess Kerr, Lea Tahuhu, and Rosemary Mair were instrumental in the bowling attack, taking eight wickets collectively and maintaining New Zealand’s unbeaten streak against Bangladesh across formats.

After opting to bat first on a sluggish track, New Zealand faced trouble at 38 for 3, with leg-spinner Rabeya Khan (3 for 30) taking two wickets while Suzie Bates was run out. Halliday and Devine’s composed batting helped stabilize the innings as they adeptly rotated the strike and capitalized on loose deliveries. Devine scored 63 off 85 balls and Halliday contributed a solid 69 from 104 deliveries. With a late 25-run cameo from Maddy Green, New Zealand reached a total of 227 for 9.

In response, Bangladesh struggled against New Zealand’s new ball attack. The top order was unable to find momentum, and the first boundary came only after 10.5 overs. Bangladesh completed the powerplay at an unimpressive 22 for 3, the lowest ten-over score in the tournament. Tahuhu’s impactful spell (3 for 22) featured two quick wickets in a single over, reducing Bangladesh to 33 for 6 and leaving them with a virtually impossible task on a challenging pitch.

Fahima Khatun fought hard for her 34 runs and formed small partnerships with the lower order, but it merely postponed the inevitable. Bangladesh was all out for 127 by the 40th over.

Brief scores: New Zealand 227/9 in 50 overs (Brooke Halliday 69, Sophie Devine 63; Rabeya Khan 3-30) defeated Bangladesh 127 in 39.5 overs (Fahima Khatun 34; Jess Kerr 3-21, Lea Tahuhu 3-22, Rosemary Mair 2-20) by 100 runs