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Bangladesh women's team fought hard against a strong England side in the ongoing T20 World Cup but the English women kept their nerve to seal victory by 21 runs in Sharjah Saturday.

After losing the toss, Bangladesh put in an excellent bowling performance to restrict England to 118/7, despite the English openers putting together a strong 48-run partnership for the first wicket.

Danni Wyatt-Hodge was the top scorer for England with 41, but it was the Bangladesh bowlers who took control as the evening progressed in Sharjah.

Ritu Moni, Fahima Khatun, and Nahida Akter all claimed two wickets each in a brilliant team effort.

England’s openers, Maia Bouchier and Danni Wyatt-Hodge, got off to a fast start. The pair played through the powerplay at a rate few teams have managed on the Sharjah surface, with England reaching 48/1 when Bouchier was dismissed for 23 from 18 balls.

Bouchier’s wicket triggered a slowdown for England, as Bangladesh worked their way into the game, taking the key wickets of Nat Sciver-Brunt (2) and Heather Knight (6), the latter being bowled by a superb delivery from Ritu.

Wyatt-Hodge’s promising innings came to an end at 41 when she was stumped off Nahida, and Alice Capsey struggled to get going, scoring just 9 from 17 balls. This left England relying on their lower middle order to boost their total.

Fahima was outstanding with the ball, finishing with 2/18 from her four overs, while Rabeya Khan played a significant role in slowing England down, returning figures of 1/15 from her four overs.

During the Bangladesh chase, Spinners Linsey Smith and Charlie Dean took two wickets apiece as the 2009 champions restricted Bangladesh to 97-7 on a slow track.

Middle-order batter Sobhana Mostary played a lone hand for Bangladesh, making 44 off 48 balls, including a huge six off Dean over deep square leg.

The result was a disappointment for Bangladesh, who won against Scotland in the tournament opener on Thursday for their first T20 World Cup win in a decade.