Hard-hitter Shorna finally turns up

Known for her hard-hitting in domestic cricket, Bangladesh all-rounder Shorna Akter had long struggled to showcase her abilities in international cricket.

But on Monday, the 18-year-old finally delivered on her promise with a blistering unbeaten 51 off 35 balls, steering Bangladesh to a competitive 232-6 against South Africa in their ICC Women's World Cup fixture in Visakhapatnam.

Prior to this match, Shorna had career strike rate of 60.88 in WODIs after 21 matches. But in contrast, in the last Women's Dhaka Premier League, a 50-over domestic competition, she had made 277 runs in six innings for Abahani Limited at an impressive strike rate of 112.60.

Against South Africa, Bangladesh were looking for acceleration after reaching 150-2 in 40 overs but lost skipper Nigar Sultana Joty in the 41st, dismissed by left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba after making 32.

The dismissal brought Shorna to the middle, who wasted no time, finding the boundary in the second ball she faced and launched the first six of the innings in the following over.

Her innings gathered momentum as she punished South African bowlers all around the park. During the 47th over, she smashed pacer Tumi Sekhukhune for a six and two fours in successive deliveries, collecting 18 runs from it.

Shorna cleared the ropes again off pacer Nadine de Klerk in the penultimate over, becoming the first Bangladeshi to hit three sixes in an innings in WODIs.

In the final over, she brought up her maiden fifty in just 34 balls, the fastest half-century by a Bangladeshi in WODIs, surpassing Joty's 39-ball effort against Scotland earlier this year.

Her powerful late surge, along with Ritu Moni's unbeaten 19 off eight balls, propelled Bangladesh to their second-ever 200-plus total in a World Cup match, the previous being 234 for seven against Pakistan in 2022.

Thanks to Shorna's heroics, Bangladesh added 82 runs in the final 10 overs, setting up a solid platform to push for another memorable World Cup win -- and signaling the emergence of a genuine power-hitter for the Tigresses.