England Women vs Bangladesh Women, 8th Match - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

The players and the match officials are out for the national anthems. Bangladesh's first and then followed by that of England

It's very warm, 31 degrees today with a humidity of 68%. 67m straight boundary, 56 and 57m square boundaries. The humidity should enable some seam first-up for the pacers. The pitch looks a bit darker, there could be some moisture with the thundershowers around. There are a few cracks as well. As a spinner, you'd want to bring the stumps into play, reckons Julia Price and Carlos Brathwaite, in their pitch report.

Two changes for Bangladesh - Ritu Moni and Shanjida Maghla get into the XI, they replace Fargana Hoque and Nishita Nishi

Teams:

Bangladesh Women (Playing XI): Rubya Haider, Sharmin Akhter, Nigar Sultana(w/c), Sobhana Mostary, Ritu Moni, Shorna Akter, Fahima Khatun, Nahida Akter, Rabeya Khan, Marufa Akter, Shanjida Akter Meghla

England Women (Playing XI): Tammy Beaumont, Amy Jones(w), Heather Knight, Nat Sciver-Brunt(c), Sophia Dunkley, Emma Lamb, Alice Capsey, Charlotte Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Linsey Smith, Lauren Bell

Nigar Sultana -We would have batted first. It (win v Pakistan) gives us a good confidence that we are moving forward in the tournament. Yeah, definitely (improved batting). Because we've been looking forward to seeing our batting unit perform. So it happened in the last game. Seeing the young players coming up for the team and playing their best in the tournament, it's good to see that there are a lot of top players in the team. We have two changes.

Nat Sciver-Brunt: We're going to bowl first. Yeah, I suppose we had a lot of success, so everyone's pretty confident after that (first game). Obviously we don't expect that to happen all the time. We start fresh today and we're really looking to make the most of it all. It's (preparation) been really good. We want to rest enough for the game. I'm prepared in any way that we would be typically for a game. We'd like to start fresh, I suppose. We're making sure that the practice is as purposeful as possible. Linsey Smith, an absolute superstar. All the bowlers did very, very well. Everyone picking up wickets, Smith in the powerplay really got us off to an amazing start. Really relishing the conditions. To use her strength was the most important thing. She hit her area really well. No, we're going to the same team.

England Women have won the toss and have opted to field

14:00 Local Time, 08:30 GMT, 14:00 IST: It's Match 8 of the Women's World Cup and today's game features two teams who started off the tournament on a superb note. South Africa were expected to be a tough challenge, but England simply blitzed them away with spin - in a one-sided contest, South Africa were bundled out for 69 and it was chased down with 10 wickets to spare. England arrived to the tournament with a largely spin based bowling line-up and that decision seemed to be vindicated in the first game. They'll start today's match against Bangladesh as the firm favorites - the team from the sub-continent though will come into the game with confidence after having managed to trip Pakistan in their opening encounter. Like England, it was their bowlers who set the game up by dismissing Pakistan for a meagre 129. You could say today's match is a battle of spin and the conditions in Guwahati could just be ideal for an equal contest between bat and ball.

Preview

England and Bangladesh head into their second match of the Women's World Cup 2025 in Guwahati eager to build on the momentum from convincing opening wins. England flexed their world-class depth in a one-sided outing against South Africa, while Bangladesh showcased discipline and growing self-belief in their takedown of Pakistan. One comes armed with pedigree and power, the other with ambition and purpose, setting up an engaging contest.

England, the four-time champions, couldn't have asked for a more emphatic start, dismantling South Africa for just 69 before cruising to a 10-wicket win in 14.1 overs. Their clinical performance underlined not just their experience but also their ruthless efficiency with both ball and bat.

Bangladesh, meanwhile, began their campaign with a similarly crushing win over Pakistan, showcasing a template that has served them well in recent years - disciplined bowling backed by smart, risk-free batting. Restricting Pakistan to 129 and chasing it down in 31.1 overs with seven wickets in hand, Nigar Sultana's side signalled their intent to compete on equal footing with higher-ranked teams. Their spin department remains their key asset, particularly in subcontinental conditions, and they'll be looking to make full use of that.

While England will start as overwhelming favourites, Bangladesh have proven that they aren't pushovers. Their growing confidence and ability to build pressure through consistency could make this a closer game than expected. The key question is whether Bangladesh's batters can hold their own against England's bowling attack, which ripped through South Africa with precision and control. Conversely, England's batters may find Bangladesh's disciplined attack a tougher test than what they faced in their opener.

When: Tuesday, October 7, 2025 at 3:00 PM IST

Where: Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati

What to Expect: This will be the third match of the competition to be played at this venue. While the surface is expected to aid the slower bowlers, batters who show discipline and application can still make runs here. India's middle order demonstrated that with a total of 269 against Sri Lanka, while South Africa's struggles in the next game were a reminder of what happens when that patience goes missing.

Head to head: England faced Bangladesh only once before in a 50-over game - in Wellington in the 2022 World Cup, which they won by 100 runs.

Team news:

England: Nat Sciver-Brunt's team are unlikely to change the winning combination from the first game.

Probable XI: Tammy Beaumont, Amy Jones (wk), Heather Knight, Nat Sciver-Brunt (c), Sophia Dunkley, Emma Lamb, Alice Capsey, Charlotte Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Linsey Smith, Lauren Bell

Bangladesh: After an excellent start to their campaign, Bangladesh will also see no reason to change their eleven.

Probable XI: Fargana Hoque, Rubya Haider, Sharmin Akhter, Nigar Sultana (c & wk), Sobhana Mostary, Shorna Akter, Fahima Khatun, Nahida Akter, Rabeya Khan, Marufa Akter, Nishita Akter Nishi

Did you know?

- Nat-Sciver Brunt is one of the four batters with four World Cup hundreds, the most, alongside Suzie Bates, Janette Brittin and Charlotte Edwards. She needs another 10 runs to go past Claire Taylor's 4101 ODI runs to break into top 3 leading run-scorers for England.

- Since January 2024, Sophie Ecclestone has bagged 35 wickets at an average of 14.97 and a strike rate of 25.4, with an economy of 3.52. She is the second highest wicket-taker after Deepti Sharma in this period.

Squads:

Bangladesh Women Squad: Fargana Hoque, Rubya Haider, Sharmin Akhter, Nigar Sultana(w/c), Sobhana Mostary, Shorna Akter, Fahima Khatun, Nahida Akter, Rabeya Khan, Marufa Akter, Nishita Akter Nishi, Sumaiya Akter, Fariha Trisna, Shanjida Akter Meghla, Ritu Moni

England Women Squad: Tammy Beaumont, Amy Jones(w), Heather Knight, Nat Sciver-Brunt(c), Sophia Dunkley, Emma Lamb, Alice Capsey, Charlotte Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Linsey Smith, Lauren Bell, Em Arlott, Lauren Filer, Sarah Glenn, Danielle Wyatt-Hodge