(MENAFN- IANS) Visakhapatnam, Oct 13 (IANS) Contrasting half-centuries by Sharmin Akhter and Shorma Akter and a fiery cameo by Ritu Moni helped Bangladesh post a competitive 232/6 in their 50 overs against South Africa in the Women's ODI World Cup at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Monday.

Sharmin Akhter scored 50 off 77 balls (6x4) to lay the foundation, while Shorma Akter hammered an unbeaten 51 off 35 (3x4, 3x6) to give late impetus. Ritu Moni blasted 19 off eight balls at the end as Bangladesh started slow but finished in a canter to post a respectable total.

It was excruciatingly slow going for Bangladesh on electing to bat first as they crawled to 100/2 in 30 overs with Sharmin Akhter and skipper Nigar Sultana Joty holding fort in the middle-overs.

Fargana Hoque (30) and Rubya Haider (23) were painstakingly slow in their approach as Bangladesh reached 28 for no loss in 10 overs of mandatory Power-play, managing to hit only three boundaries.

The South African also kept things quiet by bowling a tight line and allowing no leeway. They took the pace off the ball and used the overcast conditions well to make things difficult for the Bangladesh batters.

Fargana Hoque and Rubya Haider shared a 53-run partnership for the opening wicket in 16 overs, but both fell within 20 runs. Hoque was trapped lbw by left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba, while Haider was caught by Nadine de Klerk off Chloe Tryon.

Sharmin Akter (50) and skipper Nigar Sultana Joty continued in the same vein as they shared a 77-run partnership for the third wicket in around 15 overs as Bangladesh reached 150 in the 40th over.

Sharmin Akter completed her fifty off 74 balls, hitting six fours, but was run out due to a terrible mix-up with her skipper. Joty managed to score 32 off 42 balls before she was caught superbly by her opposite number, Laura Wolvaardt, off Mlaba, just when she was looking to give the score the push it needed badly.

Bangladesh were down to 164/4. Shorna Akter showed some urgency, hitting the first six of the innings with a miscue over long-on off Tryon after a delightfully executed sweep for four off Mlaba. She hammered Tumi Sekhukhune for a six and followed that up with a thick-edged four over the keeper's head. Another four over mid-off, though not from the middle of the bat, and a single and a double fetched Bangladesh 18 runs from the 46th over, their most productive one.

Though a double blow at 195 as Sobhana Mostary (9) and Rabeya Khan (0) fell within two balls threw a spanner in the works for them, a hat-trick of boundaries by Ritu Moni off Marizanne Kapp and another six by Shorma helped them reach a respectable total.

Brief scores:

Bangladesh 232/6 in 50 overs (Sharmin Akhter 50, Shorma Akter 51 not out, Nigar Sultana Joty 32, Ritu Moni 19 not out; Nonkululeko Mlaba 2-42) against South Africa

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